Over 180 billion rials ($5.5 million) have been spent on cultural heritage and tourism projects in Bushehr Province, said the deputy of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department of the province, Ali Zakeri.
Speaking at a meeting with Dashti County officials on Sunday, Zakeri said about 110 billion rials ($3.3 million) were allocated from provincial funds and the rest 80 billion rials ($2.4 million) from national funds, IRNA reported.
The funds were used to implement 43 projects across the province.
“A major challenge is posed by the large number of unfinished projects that need over 800 billion rials ($24.2 million),” said Zakeri. He hoped that the budget would be secured through “a carefully-designed plan”.
“Major strides have been made in the areas of tourism and cultural heritage in the past two years,” he said.
Pointing to Dashti County’s untapped potential and cultural, historical and natural tourist attractions, Zakeri said Dashti should be given priority when funds are made available.
With 150 historical and natural sites, 13 of which have been inscribed on the National Heritage List, Dashti is one of the nine counties in Bushehr Province. It is located 80 km southeast of provincial capital Bushehr and has a population of 80,000.
The most famous natural attraction in Dashti is Kouh-e-Namak, aka Jashak Salt Dome.
