Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Jamrat Bridge third phase completed ahead of pilgrimage
Dr Habeeb Zainul Abd Al Deen, undersecretary in the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, has announced completion of the third phase of the gigantic Jamrat Bridge project.
- By Abdul Rahman Shaheen, Correspondent
- Published: 23:29 November 17, 2008
Riyadh: Dr Habeeb Zainul Abd Al Deen, undersecretary in the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, has announced completion of the third phase of the gigantic Jamrat Bridge project.
"This phase of the 4.2-billion Saudi riyal (Dh4.2 billion) project, launched two years ago, focuses on the third storey of the bridge and links it with escalators to facilitate movement of pilgrims coming from the eastern side for performing the stoning ritual and leaving the Jamrat by escalators on the western exit of the sprawling Jamrah complex," he said.
Speaking to Gulf News, Dr Habeeb said the third phase of the project was completed at a cost of 520 million riyals. "The bridge now has the capacity to accommodate a total of 300,000 pilgrims per hour. There are 11 escalators, four of which are for entry and seven for exit" he said.
Ten entrances
Dr Habeeb, who is also secretary general of the General Authority for the Development of Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites, said that the number of entrances at the Jamrat reached 10, four of which are meant for those entering the ground floor from the central Mina side, and two for those entering the first floor from the eastern side and another two for those entering the second floor from the western side.
With the completion of the project next year, the bridge will have four stories with capacity to accommodate 500,000 pilgrims per hour. The bridge would be about one kilometre in length at all levels.
The multistorey bridge has been designed to prevent overcrowding while providing access to three pillars, which are stoned by pilgrims in a ritual that symbolises the stoning of the devil.
The authorities have completed all the precautionary measures to prevent flashfloods during the forthcoming Haj.
The drainage project to prevent flashfloods was completed last year, at a cost of about 260 million riyals. A part of the drainage project in Arafat costing 170 million riyals was also completed last year.
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