Minister of Water Resources: Strategic projects suspended due to terrorism now rehabilitated

Damascus (ST): The Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Tammam Raad, confirmed that there are plans and programs that the ministry is working to implement in the immediate, near and medium term to rehabilitate strategic projects that were halted due to the terrorist war on Syria and to move towards alternative energy in operating wells to dispense with electric power.

Minister Raad said in an interview with Al-Souria Al-Youm channel: “As a result of the deterioration of the reality of drinking water pumping and the power cuts for long periods, we took the decision to go towards alternative energy and dispense with electrical energy in operating some wells that were damaged by terrorism.”

Raad explained that the number of wells damaged by terrorism in all governorates amounted to 3,500 out of 6,300 wells. The results of a study of the damaged wells to show the possibility of implementing a solar energy project showed that there are more than 740 sites where the alternative energy projects can be implemented.

Raad revealed that the ministry asked the Supreme Council for Economic Planning to include a special item in the ministry’s plan to allocate 10 percent annually of the water institutions’ appropriations to implement the alternative energies project for some of the nearly 100 wells that will be put into service this year, provided that the rehabilitation of the remaining wells is completed in subsequent years.

With regard to the reservoirs of dam water in Syria, Raad stated that the rain and snowfall in recent days has increased the reservoirs by a rate that is a positive indicator of the improvement of the reality of drinking water in the next stage, especially as it exceeded 60% of the general average in Tartous, Lattakia and Quneitra, and between 40% and 60% in Homs and Hama.

K.Q.