Financial Tribune - The third phase of Urmia Wastewater Treatment Plant is near completion and is expected to be completed by 2021, managing director of West Azarbaijan Water and Wastewater Company said.

�Upon completion of this phase, 51 million cubic meters of treated wastewater will be pumped into Lake Urmia annually,� Mehr News Agency quoted Alireza Razavi as saying.

To be able to transfer standard effluent to the body of the lake, 11 kilometers of pipeline is required, of which 8 km has been laid, he said.

The two operating phases of the plant cover 400,000 people in the provincial capital and with completion of the third phase, 300,000 more people will benefit, Razavi noted, adding that the project is estimated to cost $3.2 million.