Phase one of Iran’s largest water project comes on line in the southern Khuzestan province in a ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

According to Press TV, a provincial official said when fully implemented, the project will see potable water pumped to 21 provincial cities and towns as well as 1,200 villiages.

The project which comes with a price tag of roughly $1.3bn will see a total of 675 kilometers of pipe laid to provide 4.7 million residents with safe drinking water, the official adds.

Meanwhile, a new water plant in the provincial port city of Khorramshahr was also scheduled to enter service on