Large desalination station set up in Thi-Qar

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: The environment department in Thi-Qar province on Saturday initiated work on a project to set up the largest desalination station in al-Jabayesh marshlands, which it said will provide drinking water for over 4,000 persons. “In cooperation with a UN program, a leading Italian company in water desalination today began work on the project,” the head of the department told IraqiNews.com. Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghad, has an area of 12,900 square kilometers (4,980.7 sq mi). In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1,454,200 people. Thi-Qar was the second Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. The province’s capital is the city of al-Nassiriya. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu. Before 1976 the province was known as al-Muntafiq. SS (P) 2