Ahmadinejad inaugurates Middle-East's largest suspension bridge

The Middle-East's largest suspension bridge was officially inaugurated in Iran's Southwestern city of Ahvaz, the provincial capital city of Khuzestan, in a ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The completely indigenous Ghadir Bridge, which was opened during a ceremony in the presence of President Ahmadinejad and Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development Ali Nikzad on Thursday, is 1,014 meters long and is propped up by 22 pillars. The bridge, the eighth to be built over the Karun River in Ahvaz, connects the two districts of Takhte-Soleiman and Zand in the provincial capital city. Mayor of Ahvaz Mansour Katanbaf said that a number of 158 concrete props, 150 centimeters in diameter and at the depth of 30 to 46 meters, as well as 22 pillars with a height of 5 to 17 meters have been used in the construction of the bridge.