Saudi Launches Grand Mosque Expansion

JEDDAH – Amid preparations for world's largest gathering of Hajj, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz inaugurated the third expansion of the Grand Mosque to accommodate over 1.85 million pilgrims.

“Pilgrims and visitors will say goodbye to the problem of over crowdedness," the head of Grand Mosque and Prophet's Mosque Affairs Abdulrahman Al­Sedais was quoted by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Sunday, July 12.

Launched on Saturday, July 11, the new expansion includes the King Abdullah Expansion Structure, courtyards, tunnels, buildings for service facilities and the first ring road, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Covering an area of 456,000 sq. meters, the new expansion aims to accommodate additional 770,000 worshippers.

With an estimated cost of over SR 100 billion, the expansion will include advanced electronic door system, a hi­tech sound system including 4,524 speakers, a camera monitoring system of 6,635 units and a dust removal system.

It will also include six floors for prayer complete with 680 elevators, 24 lifts and 21,000 toilets besides facilities for the disabled.

According to Saudi officials, the mega project is tipped to be “the Project of the Century”.

The announcement of Grand mosque new expansion came a week after the inaugurated of a mega airport in Madinah with a cost of $1.2bn to make the spiritual journey easier for thousands of pilgrims who flock to the holy lands every year.

With a capacity of eight million passengers a year in the first phase, the airport will be able to serve up to 18 million passengers in the second phase and 40 million in the third.

Muslims from around the world pour into Makkah every year to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family. Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform Hajj at least once in a lifetime.

Source : http://www.onislam.net