The holy city of Qom is now home to its first ever waterpark, with a new visitor attraction in Iran opening to the public after eight years of development.

Opened on the birthday of Hazrat Fatimah Masoumeh – whose holy shrine is located in Qom – the landmark development was was inaugurated in presence of Parliament speaker and Qom representative Ali Larijani, as well as several government officials, who see the development as a major project for Iran.

According to Iranian news agency Mehr, the development – one of the largest waterparks in the Middle East – is part of a larger entertainment complex, which was first launched in 2008 with development starting later in 2011.

The 30,000sq m (323,000sq ft) waterpark can accommodate up to 2,000 people. It features a number of slides, the tallest of which is 15m (50ft). The complex also features a recreational area and garden, a restaurant and 37 private pavilions.

?"Despite the difficulties that we had to overcome, we managed to achieve our goal and now visitors can enjoy the results of our work," said project investor Alireza Rezagi. "We wanted to please Qom’s youth and the construction of this entertainment complex realises that goal.”