Mohamed Nemazee knew that in order to build the hospital and training facilities he envisioned in Shiraz, he would need to provide an infrastructure project that would enhance the modernity of the city while also generating the profits necessary to fund his philanthropy. As a result, he launched a water works project in 1945. The system was completed in 1952, and unprecedented demand from the public led to additional expansions over time.
Because of the success of the Shiraz Water Works project, the Iran Foundation was able to offer services at the Medical Center for free to city residents. The creative approach to public infrastructure allowed Nemazee to help bring piped water to Shiraz will before the capital city of Tehran, and to boost overall health and wellness in the area – the introduction of clean drinking water was an obvious boon to residents.
An account of the planning and development of the Shiraz Water Works can be found in original Iran Foundation documents from 1955:
“Powerful pumps draw water from nine drilled wells at a depth of some 90 yards and discharge it in a Patterson Treatment Plant where it is softened and given a minimum precautionary dose of chlorine. From the plant water is pumped to two reservoirs with a total capacity of two million gallons which are located in the hills northwest of the town. From these reservoirs gravity flow takes the water through a network of 74 miles of pipe under the streets of Shiraz.”
The well-planned and interconnected Hospital Center and Water Works projects proved that privately funded philanthropy could work in Iran, and it is the combination of these two efforts that helped Mohamed Nemazee and the Iran Foundation fulfill its original vision.
Details of the construction of the Shiraz Water Works project are available within the Iran Foundation source material.