The Ministry of Energy is already in talks with unnamed Malaysian companies about a project to build a 315-metre-tall dam in the Bakhtiari region. If that project goes ahead, it will be the second-tallest dam in the world.

The ministry is also inviting foreign companies to bid for work on the second dam, which will be called Khersan III.

The dam will be 176.5 metres tall when finished. The reservoir behind the dam will hold 835 million cubic metres of water. Two power stations will generate about 300MW of power.

In February, Minister of Energy Parviz Fattah said that Iran’s $50bn in annual subsidies for domestic energy and water consumption were “unacceptable”.

The pre-qualification documents for Khersan III will be available between 19 April and 4 May.