Financial Tribune - Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian says tapping into the sea to produce potable water is on the agenda because it is more feasible for sustainable supplies rather than depleting drying underground resources.

"Feasibility studies to build new desalination plants to provide drinking water in the southern regions is over and work will commence soon," the minister was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry news portal.

Estimated to cost $1 billion, the projects will cover almost 100 kilometers of the southern seashores and will be undertaken with the help of private companies, he said. No details were available.

According to Ardakanian, the plants, after removing excess saline and other minerals, will supply much-needed water to Fars, Sistan and Baluchestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Bushehr, Kerman, Khuzestan and Hormozgan provinces.