Iran to construct bridge to Afghanistan BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Jan 13, 2002 Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, 13 January: Governor general of this southeast Iranian province said here Saturday [12 January] that Iran has allocated a 20bn rial (around 2.5m dollars) budget for construction of a bridge over Parian River on Iran Afghanistan border. Seyyed Mahmud Hoseyni told IRNA that the issue of constructing a transit route between Iran's Chabahar (farthest southeastern city) and Milak (village on Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan border with Afghanistan) was brought up about a year ago and the head of the Iranian Customs Organization as well as the Iranian Supreme Security Council approved of the idea then. He said that one of the most important parts of the said strategic project is the construction of a bridge over Parian (fairies) River opposite to the two countries' joint border market, by Milak (village). The Sistan and Baluchestan governor-general added that although the allocation of a 20bn-rial budget to the project is approved at the cabinet, only 5bn rials of it is included in the current year's budget. Hoseyni who is himself a civil engineer said it would be also necessary to construct a 165 km road on the other side of the border in Afghanistan form Milak to Delaram city in Afghanistan's Nimroz Province to complete the said transit route and fully facilitate the Parian River Bridge. He said: "Once this transit route is completed, transit of goods form Iran's Bandar Abbas (Port) that is currently done through Dogharun border city in Iran's Khorasan Province and from there to Herat, Kandihar and then to Kabul will get 700 km shorter. Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province has a 272 km border with Afghanistan, most of which with that country's Nimroz Province. By: IRNA news agency, Tehran, in English 13 Jan 02