TEHRAN – Some 600,000 historical buildings and monuments stand tall throughout Iran, director of the Revitalization and Utilization Fund for Historical Places has said.

“There are 600,000 historical structures [currently] in Iran and efforts should be made to conserve them through making investment by the private sector,” IRNA quoted Parham Janfeshan as saying on Thursday.

Government budgets are not sufficient for restoring and revitalizing such buildings in a limited span of time so that funds from the private sector should be used, he explained.

“A historical monument, while being restored and repurposed into a cultural place, could at least generate jobs for 30 people, yet it has a substantial impact on tourism development as well.”

Based on an initiative scheme, the Fund (known by its Persian acronym Saabta) provides opportunity for privately-owned businesses to run certain old structures in order to be maintained and repurposed into hotels, traditional restaurants or lodging places.

Iran hosts some of the world’s oldest cultural monuments including bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, gardens, rich natural, rural landscapes as well as 22 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

AFM/MQ/MG