JEDDAH, 5 February 2006 — Eight Saudi and foreign banks have offered to pay SR1.5 billion in loans to finance the SR4 billion Jamrat expansion project in Mina, which is being undertaken by the Saudi Binladin Group.
Bank Albilad will give 24 percent of the amount. Other participants are Al-Khaleej Bank, Samba Financial Group, National Commercial Bank, Emirates Bank, Riyad Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi and Saudi Hollandi Bank. “The banks will finance the project following Islamic principles,” informed sources said.
The contribution of banks other than Albilad ranged between 14.7 and 6.6 percent, they added.
Binladin has already demolished the existing Jamrat Bridge in order to build the new one, which is designed to hold more than three million pilgrims. The project aims at reducing congestion in Jamrat and avoiding the occurrence of stampedes.
The company has established a factory in Bahra, 50 km north of Jeddah, to make concrete blocs required for the project, which will be completed in four phases.
Osama Al-Bar, director of King Fahd Haj Research Institute, which designed the new Jamrat, said the first phase, which would be completed before next Haj, would include the ground floor and first floor in addition to basement, which will be used only for support services.
“In the following year, four floors of the bridge will be ready,” Asharq Al-Awsat quoted Al-Bar as saying.
The new design aims at fragmenting the density of pilgrims near the Jamrat and helping them reach the stoning point quickly.
The new bridge will have ten entrances distributed on the four levels plus the ground floor to accommodate the pilgrims coming from different directions. The ground and first level of the bridge are for pilgrims coming in from east Mina, who account for the highest percentage.
The second level is for pilgrims coming in from Makkah side, the third from north Mina and the new pilgrim residences in the tent city, and the fourth level is for pilgrims coming in from south Makkah through King Abdul Aziz Road.
There will be three main tunnels for transporting vehicles. These tunnels will be connected to service towers for garbage collectors, ambulances and other services. There is also a tunnel to be used by special delegations and VIPs.
The project, supervised by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affair, includes preparing the area for the bridge, and correcting the route of some roads and paths as well as providing water, electricity and other services.
The new facility will have two helipads for air ambulance services and eight buildings for wide escalators. Each floor is 12 meters high and 90 meters wide and the top level will be covered with a similar material used for the tents - rather than concrete - to provide shade for the pilgrims from sun and rain.
The new bridge is planned in such a way that it would be able to hold with future additions as many as 10 floors and 10 million pilgrims daily. The stone throwing area in the new bridge will have the same oval shape.
Many technological facilities and services will be available to facilitate movement, clearing of the stones, cleaning, and emergency, which will reduce the pressure on the ground personnel.