TEHRAN—Over 170 job opportunities are estimated to be generated by implementing 11 tourism-related projects in Mazandaran, the provincial tourism chief has said.

A budget of 15 trillion rials ($50 million) has been channeled into the projects, Sadeq Barzegar explained on Monday.

The projects include eco-lodge units, tourist complexes, and handicrafts centers in different cities across the northern province, the official added.

An early civilization flourished at the beginning of the first millennium BC in Mazandaran (Tabarestan).

Its insecure eastern and southeastern borders were crossed by Mongol invaders in the 13th and 14th centuries. Cossacks attacked the region in 1668 but were repulsed. It was ceded to the Russian Empire by a treaty in 1723, but the Russians were never secure in their occupation. The area was restored to Iran under the Qajar dynasty.

The northern section of the region consists of lowland alongside the Caspian and upland along the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains. Marshy backlands dominate the coastal plain, and extensive gravel fans fringe the mountains. The climate is permanently subtropical and humid, with very hot summers.

ABU/AM