Grand Mosque in Makkah to have four floors for pilgrims

Construction work will stop on September 9 and will resume on October 14 to construct the three main gates

The Grand Mosque in Makkah will have four floors by September for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to circumambulate the Kaabah during the tawaf ritual.

“The construction of the third floor has been completed,” said Sultan al Qurashi, projects manager at the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.

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Speaking about the project, he said it had an area of 76, 000 square metres. “We have increased the capacity of the mataaf in the Grand Mosque. It was the third phase of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Expansion Project. Pilgrims this Hajj season will have four floors to circumambulate the Kaaba.”

Al Quraishi informed that the construction work would stop on September 9 to allow pilgrims to enter the Grand Mosque and perform the rituals comfortably. Work would resume on October 14 to construct the three main gates.

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Further, he said that the Grand Mosque had the capacity to accommodate around 114,000 pilgrims an hour and that there were also ramps for pilgrims with disabilities to facilitate the movement of wheelchairs.

This article originally appeared on Al Arabiya