Iran has launched a large agricultural drainage project in its northeastern province of Golestan as part of efforts to control floods and to help expand farming activities in the region.
The semi-official ISNA news agency said in a Saturday report that the drainage megaproject in Golestan is the largest of its kind ever carried out in the West Asia region.
It said the construction arm of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) will carry out the project in some 90,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Golestan, a province located along the Caspian Sea coast which is known for its fertile soil and its large-scale agricultural activities.
It said the project will be a major step in efforts to control floods some five years after flash floods inflicted huge losses on agriculture in the province and led to deaths and injuries among the local population.
“This strategic project is carried out to prevent human and financial losses caused by floods and to improve the soil quality in the region,” said Mohammad Rostami, the CEO of the IRGC-linked company responsible for the project.
Rostami said drainage had already been carried out on 80,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Golestan in the past five years.
Heavy flooding caused by massive rainfall affected lands in 70 villages in Golestan and more than 200 villages in neighboring Mazandaran province in March 2019.