TEHRAN- A total of six projects in the tourism and handicrafts sectors will come on stream in Mashhad on the occasion of Government Week (August 24-30), Mashhad’s tourism chief has said.

The projects include two five-star hotels, two two-star hotels, a guest house, and a handicrafts market, Hossein Amirkalali explained on Sunday.

A budget of 38 trillion rials ($126.7 million) has been allocated to the projects, which have been carried out by the private sector, the official added.

Upon their inauguration, the projects will add 1500 beds to the hospitality sector of the city, he noted.

They will also generate 700 job opportunities, he mentioned.

Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Razavi province, is Iran’s holiest and second-largest city which embraces the shrine complex of the eighth Shia Imam.

Before the coronavirus puts almost everything on lockdown, Mashhad, played host to thousands of travelers and pilgrims who come from various Iranian cities, neighboring countries, and even across the globe to visit the holy shrine.

Dozens of five-star hotels and hostels are dotted around the holy shrine. The city has also the highest concentration of water parks in the country, and it also embraces a variety of cultural and historical sites that are generally crowded.

ABU/AM