During a visit to the province, Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi announced that the budget will be spent on developing communication infrastructures and implementing related projects in the province's urban and rural areas, the ministry's website reported.
From this budget, 240 billion rials ($2 million) have been earmarked for investment in rural and suburban areas.
During the two-day visit by Jahromi to the province, projects for overhauling the operating communication infrastructures in Torbat-e Heidariyeh, Gonabad, Bajestan, Kashmar, Neyshabur and other cities, collectively worth 45 billion rials ($375,000), were also launched, according to Financial Tribune.
Jahromi said the new projects will boost the development of ICT services in the province, emphasizing that communication services should be among the priorities of local authorities.
“When these projects become fully operational, communication network coverage in the rural areas and along the intercity roads of the region will improve significantly,” he added.
In a meeting with provincial authorities, Jahromi said a pilot project on developing Internet access in rural areas will be launched in the region in the coming months.
On the second day of his trip, Jahromi visited Neyshabour's tech center and post office, as well as the under-construction scientific and cultural center named Aflak Nama in the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.