Ahmadinejad in Mashhad to inaugurate development projects

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Mashhad in the Northeastern Khorassan Razavi province on Wednesday in a bid to inaugurate a dam constructed by Iranian experts.President Ahmadinejad is slated to inaugurate the Aradak reservoir dam located about 70 km to the Northwest of Mashhad.Iran is a leading country in dam construction and many countries, including Sri Lanka, Syria, and Tajikistan as well as several African states, have entered either dam construction or consultation projects with Tehran.Earlier this year, Managing-Director of Iran's Water Management Company Mohammad Haj-Rasouli praised Iran's eye-catching progress in area of dam construction in recent decades, saying Iran is now among the world's top dam-builders and enjoys the most advanced technology in the field.Iran is among five major dam-constructor countries in the world, Haj-Rasouli said in Southern city of Bandar Abbas in February, and added that the country has currently 145 operational dams with the total capacity of 50 billion cubic meters.Referring to the fact that dry and semi-dry climate has dominated some 75 percent of Iran's soil, he said that during the past decade, the country has faced severe climate situation and lack of rainfalls.However, he added that the crisis was successfully overcome to some extent through appropriate management and planning.Iran is now viewed as a leading country in dam building. Iranian specialists now provide consultation services for the design and construction of various dams in different sizes.