In December 2018, Trend News Agency, citing ISNA, reported that Iran's long-delayed scheme to move Caspian Sea water to Semnan province was nearing realisation. President Hassan Rouhani said the government had cleared the obstacles to conveying water inland and pledged backing for investors. The scheme envisaged desalinating and treating 200 million m³ of Caspian water a year for drinking water and industry in Semnan. Parliament had approved it in 2005. Lawmakers representing northern cities opposed it.
The report showed Iran increasingly planning to supply its arid inland provinces with desalinated seawater carried over long distances, rather than relying solely on overused groundwater reserves.
Source: Trend News Agency