Saudi Arabia has reportedly stepped up works at the Grand Mosque to ensure the $21 billion expansion project is completed by its 2020 deadline.
More than 7000 engineers and labourers are working at the Makkah site, where the first phase of the mosque expansion is underway, Finance Minister Ibrahim Al Assaf told reporters.
“These expansion projects are being carried out in the service of Islam and Muslims from all over the world,” the minister was quoted as saying by Arab News.
The SR80 billion project is expected to increase the Grand Mosque’s capacity to 2.5 million, while an expansion of the mosque in Madinah, Islam’s second holiest city, will accommodate more than 1.5 million worshippers.
About 10,000 nearby homes are to be reclaimed; 2500 residents so far have been compensated, officials said.
The project also includes a railway line and a new hospital.
“Those implementing these giant projects are doing their job efficiently to complete them on time,” the minister said.
The project started in September 2012 and is expected to expand the total area of the mosque to 98,500 square metres, with a 67,000sqm terrace.
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