Central Haram area to be tripled

Islam’s two holy mosques are witnessing the largest ever expansion in their history.
After launching the massive expansion works of the Grand Mosque in Makkah in Ramadan last year, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has now issued an order to expand the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, a move described as “unprecedented”.
Under the move, the central Haram area will be expanded threefold.
Once the three-phase expansion is completed, the mosque will have a total area of 1.1 million square meters with the capacity to accommodate an additional 1.6 million worshippers.
The historic expansion will be made as part of a comprehensive plan that also encompasses development of the central Haram area and underdeveloped neighborhoods.
While lauding King Abdullah’s care in serving the two holy mosques and improving the facilities for the growing number of Haj and Umrah pilgrims, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, described the new expansion work of the Prophet’s Mosque as unprecedented.
He said the first phase of the expansion would cover construction of multistory buildings within the periphery of the existing northern courtyard, and the flat roof of the entire mosque structure after the expansion would have a total area of about 1.1 million square meters.
There will be a main gate for the new building with two main minarets and two side minarets at the corners of the building.
The first phase will add prayer space with a capacity to accommodate 800,000 worshippers.
In the second and third phases, the eastern and western courtyards will be added to the mosque and thus increasing the capacity by another 800,000 to add the capacity of the mosque to accommodate another 1.6 million.
According to sources, the expansion project also covers massive development of the central Haram area and the unplanned neighborhoods, with the holy mosque as the core center.
The expansion will draw on the rich Islamic history of the Prophet’s city and the Islamic architectural designs of the mosque. The surrounding buildings will also be developed on the same pattern.
Public squares close to the mosque and utilities in the area will also be developed. The role of the holy mosque as the civilian and spiritual heart of the city will be highlighted while implementing the plan.
For developing the area, the comprehensive plan suggested more residential, commercial, recreational and security facilities and services should be made available.
The expansion work will enable smooth pedestrian movement. The area’s development will be realized in a way facilitating the flow of pilgrims and visitors to the mosque easily and comfortably by ensuring accommodation for them in the area.
Also, the area will be developed to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims and visitors, while maintaining the status of the mosque as the central Islamic symbol both in architectural and spiritual realms.
According to the plan, the central Haram area will be surrounded by a new ring road heading south, east and north and a middle ring road heading west.
With the new borders, the area will be three times bigger than the present one.
The area is also designed to have increased capacity for accommodation, commercial firms and facilities in the service and security sectors to take advantage of increased pilgrims and visitors to the mosque.
The plan calls for initiating an extensive planning and design works for a public transport system to link the primary routes to the city’s historic places, Haramain Railway and the holy mosque.
The plan also recommends carrying out detailed engineering studies on a new ring road and new Kakiya road, in addition to construction of pedestrian tunnels and bridges to facilitate smooth movement of pilgrims during peak hours.
According to the plan, the central Haram area can create more development opportunities with the participation of the private sector through redevelopment of the region to make available more residential facilities.
The comprehensive plan also proposes working out a new general design for the development of underdeveloped regions around the central Haram area.
This will be achieved through construction of roads, setting up of public utilities and infrastructure facilities.
Also, the plan recommends the maximum elevation of buildings in the area will be 16 floors.
With the completion of the new expansion project, all residential areas of old Madinah city will become part the mosque complex.
The mosque witnessed two major expansions after the foundation of the Kingdom. The first one was during the time of King Abdul Aziz, the Kingdom's founder, in 1949.
Work on the expansion started in July 1951 and took nine years to complete.
The second one, ordered by King Fahd, started in 1984 and was completed in 1994.
The ground floor of the mosque has an area of 98,500 sq. meters accommodating 167,000 worshippers, the roof has an area of 67,000 sq. meters accommodating 90,000 worshippers and the surrounding plaza a total area of 235,000 sq. meters accommodating 450,000 worshippers.
The total area of the mosque and its plaza is 400,500 sq. meters accommodating 707,000 worshippers but at peak times as many as million worshippers could be in the mosque at any one time.

Pakistan to scan all NATO containers

All containers passing through Pakistan to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan are to be scanned to ensure they do not contain ammunition and weapons, customs officials said Friday.
Islamabad reopened overland routes to NATO convoys earlier this week after closing them in protest at a US air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at a border post in November.
A number of trucks have already crossed into Afghanistan, but the vast majority are still at the Arabian Sea port of Karachi, where they have stood idle for the past seven months.
Ties between Washington and Islamabad, fractious allies in the “war on terror,” plummeted following the air strike and blockade, which ended after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said sorry for the deaths.
The two sides are still rebuilding trust and officials in Karachi said there would be thorough checks to ensure the convoys conformed to Pakistani parliamentary guidelines barring the transport of lethal supplies.
“We scanned the containers randomly in the past, but now every container will be duly scanned,” Karachi customs spokesman Qamar Thalho said.
He said any item “not mentioned in the agreements between Pakistan and Afghanistan and Pakistan and NATO” could be seized.
An official speaking on condition of anonymity said the move was intended to stymie opposition parties and religious groups — who have criticized the resumption of supplies.
“A strict scanning of the cargo is just one important measure not to give enough space to the opposition to exploit public sentiments,” the official said.
Islamist parties and campaign groups staged protests against the resumption of NATO supply lines in Karachi, Islamabad and the central city of Multan on Friday.
In Karachi, around 800 demonstrators from the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party took to the city’s busiest road, waving banners and chanting anti-US and anti-government slogans.
Up to 1,500 trucks packed with NATO supplies have been stranded in Karachi during the blockade, unable to unload and find other work.
Rana Mohammad Aslam, vice president of the All Pakistan Goods Carrier Association, said 560,000 rupees ($6,000) compensation per vehicle would be paid to the truck owners by NATO subcontractors.
The land routes into Afghanistan are vital as the United States and NATO withdraw troops and equipment built up since the 2001 invasion.
The blockade had forced the United States and its allies to rely on longer, more expensive routes through Central Asia, Russia and the Caucasus, costing the US military about $100 million a month, according to the Pentagon.

{ Arab News}