Plans have been made to increase the capacity of the Grand Mosque in Makkah by 35 percent in order to accommodate the growing numbers of pilgrims and worshippers especially during the peak Haj and Umrah seasons, sources close to the project said.The sources said that the Makkah Development Authority, the Makkah Municipality and the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques’ Affairs are currently conducting intensive studies concerning the expansion project to be completed by 2020.The Makkah Development Authority has approved the master plan for the development of the city’s central region. The plan aims at accommodating three million residents and eight million pilgrims. The Saudi Binladin Group has begun work on the expansion of the running area (masaa) between Safa and Marwa. The project aims at reducing overcrowding and will be completed before the next Haj season. Plans are under way to air-condition the entire built-up area of the mosque.The Saudi government has spent more than SR70 billion on the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques in recent years. Each mosque can now hold more than a million worshippers at a time.As part of efforts to develop Makkah’s central region, in 2005 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah launched six major projects, including the SR12 billion Jabal Omar Residential Towers . Spread over 230,000 square meters, the Jabal Omar project includes five-star hotels, commercial centers and prayer facilities.According to Habib Zain Al-Abidine, undersecretary at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, some 25 new real estate projects are being carried out in the center of Makkah. The total cost will exceed SR100 billion.Sami Barhameen, secretary-general of the Makkah Development Authority, said the development projects to be implemented around the Grand Mosque were designed to enable worshippers to follow the imam at the Grand Mosque during prayers. The projects will not affect the underground flow of Zamzam water.
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