Iran on annulment of $2bln dam project

The contracts for the dam were signed on March 15 last year and haven't taken effect because the financing for the project hasn't finished, Sinohydro, the Chinese dam maker that invests heavily overseas, said in a statement today, according to a Bloomberg report. MNA quoted Energy Minister Majid Namjou on May 31 as saying that Iran's Central Bank and a governmental committee rejected an offer from Sinohydro to build the Bakhtiari dam in Southwestern Iran, adding that the project was handed to a domestic company. With 163 billion yuan ($26 billion) in assets, Sinohydro was listed on the Chinese stock exchange in October. The 315 meter high dam will have a reservoir capacity of 4.8 billion cubic meters of water, enough for a 1,500 megawatt hydroelectric power station. Iran itself is a major dam builder in the world. The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Khatamol Anbiya Base, dedicated to developmental projects, has built small and big dams throughout the country. Meantime, Iran's state-owned and private companies are building dams in various countries across the region, including Tajikistan.