JEDDAH, July 12 (KUNA) -- The Grand Mosque at Islam's holy city of Makkah is set to receive a third expansion as plans for the endeavor were announced on Sunday by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on Sunday.
King Salman witnessed a miniature model structure of the projects, which include the mosque's expansion, several squares, walking tunnels and bridges, a hospital, a security centre, infrastructure for a power station, a sewage system and 'Zamzam' holy water fountains, and a main road, according to local news agency, SPA.
The project covers a massive area of around 1.47 million sq m and will help the mosque in accommodating a total of over 1.85 million pilgrims, announced the head of Grand Mosque and Prophet's Mosque Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Sedais. It also includes an advanced electronic door system, a hi-tech sound system including 4,524 speakers, a camera monitoring system of 6,635 units and a dust removal system, said the official.
"Pilgrims and visitors will say goodbye to the problem of over crowdedness," he said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf said that the mosque will offer six floors for prayer - complete with 680 elevators, 24 lifts and 21,000 toilets - along with facilities for the disabled. (end) nh.sd