Approval issued for expansion of Grand Mosque in Makkah

Riyadh: A royal approval was issued for the expansion of the northern courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Prince Miteb Bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi minister of municipal and rural affairs told the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the royal approval includes the expropriation of real estate in the expansion area of 300,000 square metres and the construction of a pedestrian tunnel and a service station.

"Committees assigned for the project began estimating the value of real estate in the area in order to expropriate them for the purpose of the project and that a technical team overseeing the expansion process will continue work till the project is fully executed," he said. He did not say how much this expansion phase would cost.

The Grand Mosque of Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, known as the two holy mosques, have witnessed a series of expansions throughout history. In the past twenty years, the Saudi government spent more than 70 billion Saudi riyals [about Dh68.6 billion] on the expansion of the two holy Mosques.

Tradition

Though the tradition of expanding and renovating the two holy mosques dates back to AD 638, the largest expansion process ever undertaken in history for the two holy mosques was completed during the era of the former Saudi monarch, King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz who passed away in 2005.

The aim of the expansions is to facilitate the annual Haj and enable pilgrims and visitors to the Prophet's mosque in Madinah to perform their rituals in ease and tranquility.