Arafat to have permanent tents

Studies are under way to establish permanent fireproof tents in Arafat, said Saud bin Hamdan Al-Dikri, director of projects at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
He said Arafat tents would be constructed on a par with the designs of the Haj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport, adding that it would accommodate about seven million pilgrims.
Higher authorities have approved the construction of two pedestrian tunnels linking the western side of the Jamrat Bridge with the northern part of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. This will facilitate the movement of pilgrims between Mina and Makkah.
“There have been proposals to construct tents to increase Arafat’s capacity by 71 percent and thus to accommodate 8.5 million pilgrims,” he said. The project will cover 8 million square meters.
“A series of measures have been taken to avoid stampedes at the Mashaer Railway stations at the holy sites,” Al-Dikri said, referring to the incidents that took place during the last Haj season. The problem was created mainly by illegal Hajis, he said.
“We have contracted a specialized company to board pilgrims onto the Mashaer trains in an orderly way and supervise its electronic gates,” Al-Dikri said. There is also a plan to build barriers at railway stations to control the movement of passengers. He said illegal Hajis would not be allowed to squat in public places close to the stations.