Plans are afoot to set up moving walkways inside new tunnels at the holy sites to ensure quick and smooth flow of pilgrims, according to Habib Zain Al-Abidine, head of project development at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
“These moving walkways, which are similar to the ones at airports, will be available for service during next Haj season,” he said. It will be made available at pedestrian tunnels with a length of total six km.
He said the new tunnels would have open areas covered by fire-resistant sunshades. A single walkway will have a length of 3,000 meters. Zain Al-Abidine said the new project to link Shuaibin with the fourth level of the Jamrat Bridge includes construction of tunnels and flyovers with a length of six km.
“We are going to construct pedestrian tunnels with a width of 16 meters for the first time,” he said, adding that the new facility would benefit 600,000 pilgrims living in Muaisem and Shuaibin.
He said a small 350-meter tunnel, with a width of 16 meters, is under construction to transport pilgrims directly from Aziziya to Jamrat. This project will be ready within seven months.
He said the new plan to construct buildings on northern Mina mountains would create space for 1.5 million pilgrims. “The northern track of Mashair Railway will accommodate 550,000 Arab, African and Iranian pilgrims,” he said, adding that the project would be completed in 24 months.
Moving walkways to further ease Haj in 2013
