TEHRAN –Some two trillion rials ($7.7 million) has been allocated to the semi-finished tourism-related projects in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan, the provincial tourism chief has announced. 

Projects with at least 40 percent physical progress will receive the budget, CHTN quoted Jalil Jabari as saying on Wednesday. 

Upon completion of the projects, which are being carried out by the private sector, there will be over 100 job opportunities, the official added. 

Among the unfinished projects are hotels, hospitals, tourist complexes as well as modern tourist facilities, he noted. 

Earlier this month, the official announced that a total of 19 tourism-related projects were inaugurated across the province in celebration of the 43rd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, which is known as Ten-Day Fajr celebrations (this year from February 1 to 11). 

Eco-lodge units, travel agencies, hotels, apartment hotels, tourism complexes, and traditional restaurants were among the projects, which created over 150 job opportunities, he added. 

Among the most significant projects were enhancing the tourism infrastructures at the Monastery of Saint Thaddeus and UNESCO-registered Takht-e Soleyman (“Solomon’s Throne”), he explained. 

He also noted that the projects will add 250 beds to the hospitality sector of the province.

West Azarbaijan embraces a variety of lush natural sceneries, cultural heritage sites, and museums including the UNESCO sites of Takht-e Soleyman and Qareh Klise (St. Thaddeus Monastery), Teppe Hasanlu, and the ruined Bastam Citadel.

The region was home to several ancient civilizations. According to Britannica, it was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC and was named Atropatene after one of Alexander’s generals, Atropates, who established a small kingdom there. Ultimately, the area returned to the Persian (Iranian) rule under the Sasanians in the 3rd century CE.

According to data compiled by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts in September 2020, over 2,400 tourism-related projects were underway across the country with a total estimated cost of 1,370 trillion rials (around $5.2 billion). 

The tourism industry of the country was growing and progressing well but unfortunately, it has faced the coronavirus outbreak, which brought the industry to a standstill.

Iran expects to reap a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 26 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

ABU/