TEHRAN – A total of 17 tourism-related projects, worth 280 billion rials ($6.6 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) are scheduled to be inaugurated across Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province on the occasion of the Government Week (August 24-30), provincial tourism chief has said.

Seven tourism complexes, eight eco-lodge units, a traditional restaurant, and a travel agency will get off the ground in various cities of the province, CHTN quoted Alireza Jalalzai as saying on Tuesday.

The mentioned projects will generate job opportunities for 140 people, the official added.

Sistan-Baluchestan was previously shunned by potential foreign and domestic travelers though it is home to several distinctive archaeological sites and natural attractions, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Burnt City) and Lut desert, parts of latter is situated in Kerman province.

For mainstream Iranians, the name of Sistan-Baluchestan was conjuring up stories of drought, desiccated wetlands, and dust storms. On the international scale, foreigners may consider it a reminiscent of the big red blot on the Iran safety map.

In ancient times, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, the Baluchistan region provided a land route to the Indus Valley and the Babylonian civilizations. The armies of Alexander the Great marched through Baluchistan in 326 BC on their way to the Hindu Kush and on their return march in 325 experienced great hardships in the region’s barren wastes.

ABU/MG