The Iranian president on Sunday inaugurated five projects to transfer desalinated water from the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to inland arid provinces, Tasnim reported.

President Hassan Rouhani opened the five water transfer projects via videoconference on Sunday.

New pipelines supply desalinated water from the southern coasts to desert areas and industrial plants in several provinces, including Hormozgan, Kerman, Yazd, Isfahan, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, and Sistan and Balouchestan.

Carried out by the private sector, the infrastructural projects provide employment for 54,000 people.

In comments at the inauguration ceremony, the president said a major revolution, not a simple leap, has happened in the country’s water sector under his administration.