Some 100 billion rials (above $3.7 million at official exchange rate) has been earmarked to start construction of the 1300-kilometer-long Zahedan-Birjand railway, Abbas Akhundi, the minister of roads and urban development, said during a visit to the South Khorasan province. Akhundi said the railway, once completed, will connect Birjand - the capital of the province - to Central Asia, IRNA reported. The administration is seeking to expand its international relations via completion of capital projects, the minister said.
