Several Iranian, Kuwaiti, Japanese and European firms comprising a giant British consortium have submitted a draft plan to pipe water from Iran's Karkheh River to Kuwait, reported the official Iranian news agency (IRNA), quoting a press report.
The Kuwaiti daily Al Qabas said the Kuwaiti partner was in the process of assigning a follow-up committee to contact the consortium and draw up more detailed plans.
The British consortium has declared that the executive body of the project will be appointed in two weeks, said the paper.
The extent of participation and procedures for implementing the plan have not yet been specified.
Al Qabas has estimated the cost of implementing the project, which is expected before 2005, at around $2 billion.
The project will include laying a pipeline measuring 2.7 meters in diameter over a 330km distance in Iran and extending into Qatar via the Arabian Gulf waters with a pipeline of 1.4 meters in diameter and 210km in length. The officials in charge of the project are also considering the possibility of doubling the capacity of water transfer in order to extend it into Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia, said the paper – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
