A private sector investment agreement is signed for the Meshampa dam project as Zanjan water transfer financing is tied to energy ministry bonds

Abbas Aliabadi, Iran's energy minister, said on Monday 3 August 2026 (12 Mordad 1405), at the signing of a private sector investment agreement for the Meshampa dam project in Zanjan province, that the ministry's deputy for water and wastewater has committed to funding the Zanjan water transfer scheme from bonds allocated to the ministry.

He added that a significant share of this year's credits will go to the project and that construction work is expected to move faster. The minister thanked the private investor taking part in the project, saying investors examine every economic aspect before committing, so their presence is a signal of the project's capacity.

Aliabadi described the damaged economics of the water and power sector as its most important challenge of recent years. He said the ministry's policy is to make the business environment in water and electricity attractive enough to draw private capital into the industry, adding that resolving the supply imbalances is not possible without large scale investment, and that raising output without managing consumption will not deliver a result.