JEDDAH: The SR6.5 billion monorail project linking Makkah with the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah will be ready for use by pilgrims for the Haj next year, a report issued by the Supreme Haj Committee said.
“Work on the project began in Muharram (soon after the last Haj season) and will be ready for use to 35 percent of its capacity during the Haj season of 1431,” the report said.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah approved the multibillion-riyal project to ease the transportation of more than three million pilgrims between the holy sites, which has been a big challenge for Saudi Haj managers.
The project, which is being implemented by a consortia of companies led by China Railway Company, will be operational with its full capacity during the Haj season of 2011, said the committee, which is chaired by Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif.
“The monorail project will help withdraw about 53,000 buses and other vehicles being used by pilgrims coming by land from within the Kingdom and neighboring GCC countries,” the report said.
The committee said the monorail would pass by three stations in Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina. The last station in Mina will be on the fourth flour of the Jamrat Bridge. The new rail system will help transport at least 500,000 pilgrims within six to eight hours.
“The monorail will be distinguished for its speed as well as closeness to the pedestrians. It will not affect Mina’s tents. The topography of the land has been considered while designing the project,” the report said.
Studies are now underway on extending the monorail to a station close to the Grand Mosque in Makkah in order to link it with the Haramain Railway that connects the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
An agreement on implementing the multibillion riyal project was signed in the presence of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Riyadh on Feb. 10. The project is designed to transport five million pilgrims.
Dr. Habeeb Zain Al-Abidine, deputy minister of municipal and rural affairs and secretary-general of the Commission for Development of Makkah, Madinah and the Holy Sites, said a feasibility study conducted by an international company had proposed five monorails linking the holy sites.
“The feasibility study suggested the second monorail be built two to three years after the construction of the first one,” he said, adding that a single monorail would cost SR4 billion. The first monorail beginning from Mina will transport nearly one million pilgrims including 360,000 Arab pilgrims.
Monorail, which is a single rail serving as the track for a wheeled or (magnetically) levitating vehicle, has been rapidly paving its way as a modern urban transit system, providing the most-sought-after transportation solutions for a built-up congested city. The Makkah monorails will be 8 to 10 meters above ground to ensure the smooth flow of pedestrians and vehicles.
The Haj committee report highlighted the importance of the SR4.2 billion Jamrat Bridge project, which was instrumental in facilitating the stoning ritual in Mina. “Fixed and mobile cameras have been established in various parts of the holy sites to monitor the movement of pilgrims in order for the security forces to intervene whenever required,” it said.
The committee also referred to the experimental buildings that have been constructed on Mina’s mountains. “These buildings, with a capacity of 25,000 pilgrims, were constructed with the objective of accommodating more pilgrims in the holy site of Mina,” it said.
The report also referred to an advanced fire-fighting system, which was installed last year. There are powerful water pumps operated by electricity and diesel, which can pump 1,500 gallons of water per minute in order to extinguish possible fire during the peak days of Haj.
