This year’s annual pilgrimage, which drew nearly three million Muslims from around the world, was a remarkable success. It was thanks to the new expansion projects carried out by the Saudi government at the Grand Mosque in Makkah as well as at the holy sites of Mina and Arafat, enabling the guests of God to perform their Haj duties in peace and tranquility.
To further improve both Haj services and facilities for pilgrims, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah ordered further expansion of the Grand Mosque. Described as the largest in Muslim history, the project will create additional prayer space for nearly a million worshippers. More than 1,000 properties in Shamiya and Shubaika areas have been demolished to carry out the expansion.
Masaa, the area between Safa and Marwa, located inside the mosque, has been expanded to help pilgrims perform the ritual of saie comfortably. The expanded area was opened for pilgrims for the first time this year. King Abdullah allocated SR10 billion for the new projects at the Grand Mosque and the holy sites. He also ordered another expansion at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah at a cost of SR4 billion.
The symbolic stoning of Satan at Jamrat is no longer a nightmarish task for pilgrims. The construction of a three-story high-tech bridge in the area and expansion of its surroundings have made things much easier for them. Before the bridge’s construction, which began three years ago, hundreds of pilgrims had lost their lives as a result of stampedes and overcrowding.
“The primary objective of the SR4.2 billion project is to facilitate the stoning ritual without stampedes and other accidents,” said Habeeb Zain Al-Abideen, undersecretary at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. He described the state-of-the-art bridge as one of the largest in the world. “About 10,000 employees worked daily on this project,” he said. Saudi Binladin Group, which won the contract, set up a huge factory in Bahra in an area of 450,000 square meters to supply concrete blocks required for the project.
The Jamrat bridge was designed to accommodate five million pilgrims. It has 10 entrances and 12 exits distributed over the four levels plus others to accommodate pilgrims coming from different directions. The ground and first floors are meant for pilgrims coming from the east of Mina, while the second level serves pilgrims coming from the direction of Makkah. The third level is used by pilgrims coming from the north of Mina and new pilgrim camps and the fourth by pilgrims coming from the south of Makkah via King Abdul Aziz Road.
Three months ago, King Abdullah launched the second King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project in Makkah. Located close to the Grand Mosque, the project can accommodate 55,000 pilgrims and visitors.
