Tasnim � Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said by the end of the current Persian calendar year (March 2020), his ministry will inaugurate 227 major energy and water projects in the country.

In remarks on Saturday on the sidelines of a visit to Savojbolagh County in the northern province of Alborz, Ardakanian said by the end of the current Iranian year, 227 major projects will become operational, including 10 dams in 9 provinces of the country.

The minister of energy further said that 1,124 villages are planned to get access to safe drinking water with the completion of the projects.

Ardakanian went on to say that increasing the country�s capacity to produce electricity is also on the agenda of his ministry.

Since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21), the country has added 557 MW of capacity to the national grid, according to data released by companies active in the country�s power sector back in late June.

Iran�s nominal electricity generation capacity reached 80,311 MW at the end of last year and now, it has risen to 80,868 MW, the data showed.

In February 2018, Ardakanian highlighted the country�s self-sufficiency in the area of power generation and said the Islamic Republic is the top producer of electricity in the Middle East.

About 90 percent of power generation equipment, even complicated parts like turbines and generators, are currently manufactured inside the country, the energy minister told reporters at the time.

He added that Iran�s capabilities in the area of power generation have developed over the past four decades so much that the country has become the top producer of electricity in the region.

�At present, we have energy exchanges with all the countries that share land borders with us,� he said.