Ministry of Energy and Suez sign a MoU for Cooperation

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1 Special Page for France See Page. 3 National Development Fund and Iranian Banks to Finance Large Urban and Rural Water Supply Projects These projects are implemented to enhance national production capacity, to develop general policies of resistive economy, i.e.... Ministry of Energy and Suez sign a MoU for Cooperation See Page. See Page. 4 Second Iran-Japan Joint Conference Cooperation Conference on Developing Joint Cooperation between Iran and Japan was held in Tehran Dutch Delegation in National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company In the meeting of the delegation sent by the Ministry of Environment and Infrastructure from... D uring the trip of the president to France, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Energy and Suez the French International Company in order to decrease a 10 percent water loss. Alireza Daemi as the Deputy of the Minister of Energy stated that this Memorandum of Understanding was signed to reform the network and decrease the non-revenue water in some parts of Tehran in the form of a pilot project. He added: 1.5 million people are supposed to be the statistical population of this project with the final end of decreasing a 10 percent water loss. In this line, Suez the French International Company recently built Tehran s first treatment plant by one of its subdivisions. It took on the responsibility of this project. This company has a long history in Iran. This French company quite recently visited some of Iran s water installations which lasted ended in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company. This contract consisted of the three following articles: transferring the technical knowledge to Iran; the training needed for the Iranian experts; and, developing capacity in the domain of infrastructure. The purpose of signing this Memorandum of Understanding is to enable the Iranian expert to have training needed for developing the project in other regions of the country. This Memorandum of Understanding can lead to developing capacities in the domain of infrastructure for decreasing water loss in the network. The Deputy of Planning and Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Energy stated that Zone One of Tehran has experienced a disorganized development and the systems did not have a thorough sustainability. Therefore, the implementation of this project was pilot. He remarked: we hope to decrease water loss or total non-revenue water in urban areas. Concerning the investors of this project, he noted: the total amount of investment which must be provided by the Iranian and the French groups for implementation of this project is about 70 million Euros. The Ministry of Energy pursues cooperation on the one hand and utilization of the capacities of technical knowledge in different sectors like water, wastewater and electricity on the other hand. According to the recommendations made, a contract is to be signed with Europeans countries of Scandinavia. National Water & Wastwater Engineering Co. Quaterly 1

2 Foreword Mohammad Khalili pir Editor-in-chief D eveloping the joint cooperation of Water and Wastewater Industry with different countries seems to be one of the goals pursued by the authorities of the Ministry of Energy and the managers of Iran s Water and Wastewater Industry. In the coming month, the Second Conference on developing cooperation with the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) was held in Tehran with the presence of Deputy of the Minister of Energy and the ambassador of Japan. Mr. Satar Mahmoudi, the deputy of the Minister of Energy, openly supported cooperation with all countries. He remarked that we are planning to install wastewater treatment systems in 500 cities, to build dams and hydroelectric power plants for supplying the water of 100 cities and finally to decrease non-revenue water (NRW) in Iran s water distribution networks. Therefore, we welcome any cooperation proposal. The Ministry of Energy has the highest level of readiness to cooperate with different countries and qualified companies in all sectors. Reception of different delegations from other countries and familiarity with their perspectives indicate the aforementioned readiness. At the moment, National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company hosts different political and technical delegations from other countries and has obtained significant results. Developing the industries of water and wastewater is a radical plan which is pursued by the government for the welfare of people. Great credits have been dedicated to this end. In addition, different projects are defined in all water and wastewater companies and we are ready to benefit from cooperation on part of foreign countries and international companies. In this regard, the deputy of the Minister of Energy pointed out that Iran has the strongest educated human resource and there are engineering consulting firms, contract and construction companies, natural resources and security and guarantee of investment in comparison with other countries. All these have created good investment opportunities for the other countries in Iran. Concerning this issue, Hamid Reza Janbaz as the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company stated: apart from an original market, there are great investment opportunities in Iran and in case of mutual cooperation, we can have significant achievements in such an area. Facilitating cooperation between Iranian and foreign countries seems to be the joint responsibility of the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company as a sector of the government. Our private sector can have direct contact with international companies. 2 Spring 2016 Vol.2 No.6

3 Local Event National Development Fund and Iranian Banks to Finance Large Urban and Rural Water Supply Projects T hese projects are implemented to enhance national production capacity, to develop general policies of resistive economy, i.e. endogeneity of economy and to provide drinking water for most cities, villages, industries and production units. Mohammad Bagher Nobakht as advisor of the president and the chairman of Management and Planning Organization, Hamid Chitchian as Minister of Energy, Alireza Daemi as Minister of Energy s Deputy of Planning and Economic Affairs, Hamid Reza Janbaz as the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, chairman of Parsian Bank, chairman of Sepah Bank and chairman of Keshavarzi Bank were involved in embarking on the specific projects of water supply to Iran s cities and villages. These projects are covered 31.4 million of Iran s population. In this meeting, Seyyed Hamid Pourmohammadi as Deputy of Management and Planning Organization presented a report about the details of these projects. In Particular, Pourmohammadi remarked: in the projects of water supply, we will have the commencement of implementing water supply for 115 cities with a population reaching Moreover, 3542 villages whose population totals and are located on the route of transferring this water will have access to potable water. Apart from those projects of water supply which were inaugurated today, a population reaching will have access to potable water persistently. Stating that tons steel sheets will be bought from local manufacturers to implement these projects of water supply, he added: constructing 2206 kilometers pipe in these projects will play an influential role on job creation in steel industry and the development of national production. The Deputy of Management and Planning Organization stated that it was settled to allocate $500 million from National Development Fund to rural water supply. He added that Management and Planning Organization has declared the guaranteed repayment table of these facilities to National Development Fund. In addition, 10 percent of the allocated credits by National Development Fund will be dedicated to rural water supply and those villages that have acute problems of quality in water supply. He reiterated that at the moment villages in Iran which having a population of 13.9 million do not have any qualitative and quantitative problems of water. They possess two utilities needed for water supply. On the other hand, 9454 villages which having a population of 4.9 million tackle with depreciation of water supply installations from 30 to 80 percent and as well as seasonal shortage of water resource. Moreover, 5111 villages which having a population of 1.4 million lack water supply installations. The depreciation of available installations is more than 80 percent. Such villages are known not to have water. The chairman of Management and Planning Organization remarked: with a fund of $1.6 billion, we are working hand in hand to provide million of Iran s population with sustainable potable water. The people of those cities and villages that suffer from lack and shortage of water become happy if they know that some authorities have assembled recently to cooperate and solve their problems. Commenting about these projects, Nobakht stated: in a project with $500 million, we are going to provide the villages with water supply. The chairman of Management and Planning Organization stated that Sixth Development Plan is different from the other five ones. Nobakht added: Sixth Development Plan is all-inclusive and problem-based and we are supposed on focus on particular issues from 2016 to Since we are unable to solve all the problems in the course of these five years, we have decided to set priorities, among which the first one seems to be the issue of water. At the end of this meeting, among the Certificates of Appreciation donated, I can point to the following ones: Hamid Reza Janbaz as Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, Ali Asghar Ghaneh as Deputy of Planning and Development in Iran s Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, Hamid Reza Kashfi as the manager of Bureau for Mobilization of Funds and Development of PPP in National Water and Wastewater Company, Amir Hossein Raghimi as Manager of Bureau for planning water and wastewater projects and Mr. Bakhtiar from the Ministry of Energy. National Water & Wastwater Engineering Co. Quaterly 3

4 Second Iran-Japan Joint Conference Cooperation C onference on Developing Joint Cooperation between Iran and Japan was held in Tehran. The deputy of the minister of Energy, Japan s ambassador in Tehran, Hamid Reza Janbaz as the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company and a group of both countries authorities participated in this conference. At the beginning of this conference, Dr. Hamid Reza Tashauoei the Deputy of Supervision on Operation in National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company remarked: Iran is a suitable partner for Japan in producing goods, providing services and exporting them to Middle East and West Asian countries. The joint projects which can be implemented are around of $9890 million. He said that the first professional course for the managers and experts of water and wastewater industry was held in Japan with the presence of 240 attendances. He added: promoting the knowledge of the managers, utilizing the working culture and planning based on Japanese index were among the purposes of this course. Subsequently, Satar Mahmoudi as the deputy of the minister of Energy spoke about the joint cooperation between the water and wastewater industry of Iran and Japan: there are high capacities for joint cooperation between Iran and Japan in water and wastewater industry. Since there are experts, equipment manufacturing companies and natural resources on the one hand and safe, guaranteed and high-efficiency investment opportunities alongside appropriate incentives to attract and invest in Iran on the other hand, these can be beneficial to the joint cooperation between Iran and Japan. He noted that the private sector companies of Iran can be considered as motivated groups for Japanese companies. Highlighting the closeness of Iran to Japan s target markets, Satar Mahmoudi stated: on account of familiarity with the region and labor market, Iranian companies can pave the ground for the successful implementation of projects in Iran or a third country. Mr. Hiroyasu Kobayashi, the ambassador of Japan in Iran, delivered a speech in this conference. He remarked: I hope that the relationships between Iran and Japan will strengthen more and more, finally leading to successful cooperation with each other. Japan s ambassador declared that more than 200 Iranian experts of water and wastewater have participated in Japan s training courses so far and have passed them successfully. Mr. Hiroyasu Kobayashi mentioned: such cooperation has started from 2014 and they will be sought more seriously in The Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) endeavors to have more strengthened relationships and attempts to increase the cooperation between both countries day after day. Hamid Reza Janbaz, the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, was another speaker in this conference. He pointed out: it s expected by defining the joint projects between Iran and Japan, Iran and Japan s private sector will be accomplished and the presence of Japanese companies to be more effective. Mr. Janbaz added: water and wastewater companies as a sector of the government are responsible for facilitating these relationships. Iran s private sector must utilize the present situation and get in contact with Japanese companies directly. 4 Spring 2016 Vol.2 No.6

5 International Cooperation German Investors in National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company I n a meeting in which the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, the Deputy of Planning and Development, the Manager of Bureau for Mobilization of Funds and Development of PPP and the German investors took part, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed. The Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company stated: using the current capacities of the country in joint investments seems to be highly impressive and we support such projects. The Manager of Bureau for Mobilization of Funds and Development of PPP noted: this group has come to Iran in the form of Germany s economic team. After lifting the sanctions, they have done negotiations about these teams investment in Iran. As it has been decided, during the trip of the representative of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company to Germany, all necessary actions will be done with German Water Partnership. Dr. Mohajeri as a board member of GWP who is responsible for following up Iran s affairs pointed out: a part of the Memorandum of Understanding revolves around investment and taking into consideration the joint debate about research, we hope to be able to enter the implementation phase in future. There are a lot of companies in Germany that tend to invest in Iran directly or indirectly. We are hopeful to advance our cooperation with GWP in terms of investment. German investors present in this meeting expressed their hope to be able to undertake joint projects with Iranian companies parallel with implementing the agreements. This German team announced that their intended area of cooperation consists of implementing finance projects in Iran. National Water & Wastwater Engineering Co. Quaterly 5

6 National Water and Wastewater Engineering Com ational Water and Wastewater Engineering Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Doosan Companies of South Korea for investment in water and wastewater industries. The Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, the Deputy of Planning and Development, the manager of Bureau for Mobilization of Funds and Development of PPP participated in this meeting. They exchanged their viewpoints about the articles of the Memorandum of Understanding. Pointing to spread of the population provided with the service of water and wastewater, Mr. Janbaz stated: at the moment, the majority of Iran s population (99% urban; 87% rural) is covered by our companies. The amount of which totals $ 2.3 billion apart from BOO and N 6 Spring 2016 Vol.2 No.6 BOT and the credit provided for the projects in the following month, 27 contracts of investment with private sector will be signed. He added: my colleagues and I have always emphasized on the implementation of these signed Memorandums of Understanding. Highlighting the common domains of cooperation, the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company noted: we have prepared different plans like desalinating the sea water into fresh water, implementing transmission lines and recycling water in order to cooperate with Doosan Company. Mr. Yon, Managing Director of Doosan Company, expressed his tendency to sign more Memorandums of Understanding. In addition, this company supported mutual agreements.

7 Special Page for Korea mpany and South Korea in New Era of Cooperation F ollowing the trip of North Korea s president and his high-level economic delegation to Iran, the managers of K-Water Company (a state-owned company responsible for issues of water) had a meeting with the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, the Deputy of Supervision on Operation, and the manager of Bureau for Mobilization of Funds and Development of PPP and they signed a Memorandum of Understanding. water transmission lines, water and wastewater treatment plants etc. In this meeting which was held to sign a Memorandum of Understanding about Non-Revenue Water (NRW), the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company stated: we tend to cooperate with the leading companies. Mr. Janbaz talked about implementing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) project in one or two cities as the starting point of the joint enterprise. Furthermore, he mentioned potentialities of cooperation in other domains like desalination of The Deputy of Supervision on operation in National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company took part in this meeting. He highlighted the Non-Revenue Water (NRW) project as a strategic one in the water and wastewater industry of the country. Moreover, due to the significance of this issue, our estimate totaling $3500million for those cities in priority can be a good and large market for K-Water Company. Mr. Lee on behalf of the South Korean company remarked: although we have been sent to Iran by South Korea s government as an economic delegation, we ourselves are active in this area and tend to have more and better relationships. In addition, we aim to find more suitable methods for long-term cooperation and act accordingly. National Water & Wastwater Engineering Co. Quaterly 7

8 Dutch Delegation in National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company I n the meeting of the delegation sent by the Ministry of Environment and Infrastructure from the Netherlands with Hamid Reza Janbaz, the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, areas of mutual cooperation were dealt with. In addition, the necessity of these cooperation including joint conventions, research and administrative projects was accentuated. In this meeting in which Ali Asghar Ghaneh Deputy of Planning and Development and Hamid Reza Kashfi the manager of Bureau for Mobilization of Funds and Development of PPP from National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company took part, the members of the Dutch delegation consisted of Martin Van Dan Berg (Deputy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs), Hank Snoken (Director General of the international affairs in the Ministry of Environment and Infrastructure) and a group of other managers in water and wastewater industry. The Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company stated that private and public sectors in Iran have done a lot in the domain of water and wastewater. For example, 95 percent of our needs are fulfilled within the country. However, we are dependent on joint actions in transferring technology, escalating efficiency and enhancing qualities. In spite of cooperating with worldly-known companies in wastewater industry, we tend to extend our cooperation with Dutch companies. Therefore, we will propose and develop our projects. Restating that investment opportunities have been posted on the website, he added: there are evidence and information which the associated managers would transfer to the Dutch delegation. The specific areas of cooperation are as follows: developing methods and systems of wastewater treatment in small communities and the quality of water and wastewater. The representative of the Dutch Environment and Infrastructure s minister remarked that we are too pleased to find this opportunity since it gives the chance to review the potentialities of the Dutch company. We have sent representatives from Dutch companies and universities which are known as golden triangle in the Netherlands. The interaction between universities, companies and the government forms the base of this triangle and it has brought about great achievements in the Netherlands. The partnership of private and public sectors in promoting innovations in water industry seems to be very important for us. We have met representatives from the Dutch government that are highly familiar with the partnership of private and public sectors. Furthermore, they have worked out in this domain. The representative of this partnership in the Netherlands stated: the statistics of Iran s water and wastewater industry (65 companies and $12 billion investment) shows that great projects are undertaken in Iran. We exchanged our approach and methodology with consultants and contractors and we were really impressed by their considerable experience especially that of those experts active in implementing projects in Iran and foreign countries. Apart from the partnership of German water companies, we are pleased to be able to take more part in Iran s water industry. Taking into consideration the flat plains of the Netherlands, we have to attend to prevention of water penetration on the one hand and the quality of water on the other hand. We have tackled with this problem for years. In addition, we have made major investments to enhance the quality of water. Furthermore, we had a meeting with Iran s Consulting Engineers Council. It was an important meeting for us since the Council consists of 850 members who can be great partners. 8 Spring 2016 Vol.2 No.6

9 International Cooperation Iran At The Global Water Summit 2016 ( Abu Dhabi) Hamid Reza Kashfi Manager, Bureau for Promotion of Investment & Development of Non-Governmental Participation Manager, PMU for WB, IDB & ETDB Bank Projects This year the Global Water Summit was held in the city of Abu Dhabi in a ground breaking event that took away the Summit from Europe for the first time. Iran figured high on this year agenda with Mr. Hamid Reza Kashfi and Mr. Mojtaba Ahmad Khan introducing the different investment opportunities in water and wastewater sector as follows: No one can deny the role of water and sanitation system in the sustainable development of a country, the health of the people and the protection of the environment. Therefore, in any budget planning governments always pay a special attention to the maintenance and expansion of the water and wastewater systems. However, in some countries, the number of the works to be undertaken and infrastructures to be created are so large, that many countries must either refrain from their execution, thereby undermining both their people s welfare and their national development; or must have recourse to different modes of financing for their plans, and in this context they may also need to address the issues of their legislations. Located in an arid and semi-arid region of the world and affected by long and consecutive periods of drought, Iran is no exception to the above rule. The initial drives to meet demands through supply management have proven to be very costly and controversial. With the new shift in approach from supply to demand management, in addition to efforts made in water savings, the use of non-conventional resources to partially meet the demands was included in the government plans. Thus, focus was now on such solutions as desalination and reuse of treated effluents. However, given the fact that hitherto, no attention was made to the collection and treatment of wastewater, and even less to desalination of brine and brackish waters, no suitable infrastructure was in place to realize and achieve the ambitious goals set in the new strategy. In recent years extensive efforts are made to create these infrastructures. However, it was soon realized that sole reliance on government resources could not yield to the desired results and other sources and modes of financing along with their facilitating laws were required to face the challenges. Currently, Iran is spending the amount of USD 2 billion on water and wastewater plans annually and requires an additional equivalent amount per year for this purpose as well through other modes of financing. Fortunately, great strides have also been taken to facilitate and guarantee foreign investments in the water of wastewater sector of Iran, both at legislation and implementation levels. Overall, there are three types of financing for the projects in Iran: - Projects financed by the government through funds allocated from the annual budget: These are in the frame of the national development plans, fully financed by the government, and as such the relevant contracts are solely awarded to Iranian firms. However, foreign companies interested in participating in such undertakings, may be involved as sub contractors or suppliers of equipment through agreements made with the project s construction contractor. - Projects financed by international financial institutions: The water and wastewater sector of Iran has been the recipient of the largest loans and financing by the World Bank (USD ) the Islamic Development Bank (over USD one billion) and the ECO Trade and Development Bank. In such projects, since the rule and regulations of the mentioned institutions prevail, the foreign companies may participate in the International Competitive biddings as consultants, contractors and suppliers. - Projects financed by foreign investors: These projects are among the top priorities of the government for execution. As such may facilities have been provided to encourage and motivate the engagement of domestic and international investors. The most important facilities provided are the guaranteed purchase agreement and no foreign exchange restrictions. These projects also have different modalities: EPCF contracts- executed through soft loans. The loan service on these contracts is guaranteed by the governments. This approach is usually taken for large sized projects BOT contracts: Typically for construction of water and wastewater treatment plants, networks, transmission systems and pumping stations. The government guarantees the purchase of the offtake at a negotiated and mutually agreed rate. BOO contracts: These are mostly used for the construction of desalination plants. There is currently a great drive for the execution of desalination projects, as according to the new regulation, the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea up to a distance of 100 km from sea are no longer to be supplied with water from the mainland (through long distance transmission pipelines). Therefore, there is currently a great demand in the coastal areas for desalination systems. The government target is production of 1,000,000 m3 of desalinated water per day, and this is expected to increase to 3,000,000 m3 to meet the demand in the central provinces. However, currently a capacity of only 300,000 m3 is either under operation or construction. In this mode the government is again the offtake purchaser through a guarantee purchase agreement. Buyback contracts: These contracts are quite new in the water and wastewater sector, and aimed at addressing both the need to solve the wastewater pollution in the urban or rural areas and meet the demands for industrial or agricultural sectors in the arid regions through a win-win situation. These contract modalities are currently used with great success and have attracted many domestic and foreign investors. However, given the size of demands and issues in the country, the Islamic Republic of Iran extends invitation for and welcomes proposals from international investors within the frame of above contracts. National Water & Wastwater Engineering Co. Quaterly 9

10 Visiting South Tehran Wastewater Treatment Plant by Algerian Minister of Water Resources A lgeria s Minister of Water Resources visited the treatment plant in south of Tehran and considered it to be a unique and big one. He remarked: one can recognize Iran s technical power through the high volume of sewage treated and the technology applied in this treatment plant. Nuri stated: we hope to be able to cooperate with Iranian companies in this domain since the technical power in treating sewage shows the development of that country and Iran is at a high level in this term. Algeria s Minister of Water Resources pointed to some problems in wastewater treatment in his country. He noted: the problem of treating wastewater in our country relates to chemicals treatment. Sludge is another issue that we are dealing with. Sludge must be burned because Algerian farmers do not welcome such materials. Hamid Reza Janbaz, the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, highlighted using new technologies in the installation of wastewater treatment plants of the country. He said that 270 cities are equipped with wastewater treatment plants in Iran. All methods of treatment plants around the world are implemented in Iran. Since our country is located in a dry climate, we have to use wastewater and its sewage in other consumptions. Therefore, one of the policies of the Ministry of Energy is to treat wastewater in different parts of the country. Janbaz added: at the moment in some provinces like Esfahan and Yazd that are influenced by water shortage, the major part of industries and plants need is accounted for through such sewage. In Tehran, a percent of the sewage is used in agriculture or oil refinery. Janbaz pointed out: we have not intended to burn sludge. It is better to develop the culture of using composite or fertilizer among the farmers. Fortunately, this matter has been accepted and sludge is not a serious problem in any treatment plant. Since the major part of industrial wastewater is separated and will be treated in a different complex, the amount of industrial pollutants and heavy metals is not too much in our sewage sludge. 10 Spring 2016 Vol.2 No.6

11 Local Event Holding 25 th Establishment Anniversary of Water and Wastewater Companies T he current year coincided with the 25th establishment anniversary of water and wastewater companies and the former and new managers of the company took part in the ceremony which was held in the Ministry of Energy. Chitchian, the Minister of Energy, was a member of Energy Commission of Islamic Council Parliament at the time of approving the law of establishing water and wastewater companies. He did a great job for approving this law and expressed his pleasure to be present among the pioneer and those active in water and wastewater industry. He appreciated National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company for holding such a ceremony and remarked: by establishing water and wastewater companies, all experts and their valuable personal experiences outspreaded in provincial governments, municipalities and the Ministry of Energy were centralized. Furthermore, a lot of influential agents from all provinces and cities were recruited in water and wastewater companies. High intelligence was used in designing and architecture of these companies. Despite such fact, water and wastewater companies did not turn into governmental organizations and cost centers. On the contrary, they grew into companies that had to offer their services in accordance with their income. This good idea was welcomed at the time. Not to forget, the Ministry of Energy has always owned a good and professional engineering and expert structure. All of its organizations are formed based on economic companies. Each company has its own power and authority equal to that of the Minister of Energy. In another part of his speech, the Minister of Energy remarked: we had these pressing problems which arose out of drought. However, the majority of people had healthy potable water during those difficult years. Water and wastewater companies were pioneer in surrendering plans and projects to private sector. Hamid Reza Janbaz, the Managing Director of National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, made a speech in this ceremony. He appreciated the presence of all those whose services paved the ground for enhancing water and wastewater indicates. Janbaz remarked: water and wastewater industry is considered to be one of the successful administrative organization in our country. Taking into consideration the valuable services of respected pioneers, we can say that water and wastewater industries have been the most successful organizations after Islamic Revolution s Victory. Janbaz noted that the number of modern wastewater treatment plants has increased from 47 to 129 over the past 25 years in Iran. In the past, only a very few cities had wastewater system because the authorities did not tend to construct wastewater treatment plants which were considered to be unnecessary and luxury. The personnel of water and wastewater companies did their best and the number of those living in city who had treatment plant increased from 2 million to 24.7 million. In addition, the number of modern wastewater treatment plants escalated from 11 units in 1990 to 159 units in the current year. Janbaz accentuated that nowadays there are good facilities and indicates in water and wastewater industry while our country has encountered lots of problems like climate change, reduced rainfall, population growth and its unprincipled movement over these years. He added: fortunately we do not have any specific problem in the infrastructures of water and wastewater treatment. It is urgent to recruit forces needed for this industry based on scientific knowledge. In addition, those recruited must be able to manage all challenges as well as possible. Janbaz appreciated the efforts of those working in rural water and wastewater companies and highlighted that around 77 percent of Iran s rural population are provided with the services of rural water and wastewater companies. He added: until two years ago, the credits were allocated for national projects in rural water and wastewater companies were closed to zero while in the budget of 2013 about $ 572 million was dedicated to implement such rural projects. National Water & Wastwater Engineering Co. Quaterly 11

12 National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company visit to IFAT F ollowing the new era of interaction and cooperation in the world, the Iranian water and wastewater sector availed to opportunity to learn firsthand about the latest innovations and technologies related to the water and wastewater industry. A delegation consisted of high level representation from the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company led by Mr. Sattar Mahmoodi the Vice Minister of Energy and composed of Messrs. Ghane, the Deputy for Planning and Development, Pakrooh, the Deputy for Finance and Logistics, Pakzamir, Manager of MD s office, Kashfi, Manager of the Bureau for Mobilization of Funds and Kassaei from the International Affairs of the Ministry of Energy. There was a special attention on Iran in this year s event with the German Water Partnership (GWP) providing a presentation to introduce the Iranian water and wastewater sector and its investment opportunities to the German companies at large and the GWP members in particular, and arranging all the different visits and events set for a 2-day packed and intensive program. The Fair was inaugurated on Monday 30th May 2016 with the inauguration ceremony attended by Mrs. Ulrike Scharf the Bavarian State Minister of Environment, after which the delegation started its official visits to the different stands and companies, This year, GWP had organized two special forums to focus on Iran. During the first forum, representatives from the Hormozgan, Esfahan and Zanjan Water and Wastewater companies introduced the investment opportunities in their respective provinces to German investors. The second forum, which was designed for greater audience, was held in a special podium. This forum started with a speech by Mr. Gunther Adler the State secretary, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, who highlighted the role of his Ministry in support for investment in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Addressing this gathering Mr. Sattar Mahmoodi, the Vice Minister of Islamic Republic of Iran, introduced the different investment opportunities in the power and the water and wastewater sector of Iran and who reiterated his Ministry s support and backing for private investors. The session ended with a speech by Dr. Shahrooz Mohajeri, Member of the Board of GWP, who explained the role of this Association in promoting and facilitating investment and cooperation between the German private companies and their counterparts in Iran. Natioanal Water & Wastewater Engineering Co. Quarterly License holder: National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company Editor-in-chief: Mohammad khalili pir Assistant Editor and Coordinator: Narges Bahrami Executive Director: Alireza Dashti Policy Council: Ali Asghar Ghaneh, Hamid Reza Tashauoei, Hossein Ataei Far, Hamid Reza Kashfi Translator: Mojtaba Ahmadkhan, Narges Bahrami Publish&Print: Tel: Design &Paging: Mohammad Rezaeiyan shahrab.en@nww.ir Spring 2016 Vol.2 No.6