Jamrat Bridge construction resumes for Hajj 2009

As the last groups of pilgrims left the holy sites in Makkah - Mina and Arafat - the noise of giant machines could be heard in Mina.

The last of the construction work on the fifth level of the Jamrat Bridge project has resumed. The fifth floor will be allocated for the use of pilgrims staying in buildings located in the foothills of the mountains.

Mina, the tent city, will accommodate 10 other projects that will assist the pilgrims arriving for Hajj 2009.

These projects will include potential housing for pilgrims on the foothills of Mina mountains, the southern railway project, improving guidance in the holy sites, designing, planning and improving toilets, connecting the Shabain and Muaisim areas to the entry and exit of the Jamrat Bridge's third floor and connecting Al Aziziyah District to the bridge's fourth floor.

According to Habeeb Zain Al Abideen, undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and head of the central administration for development projects, the foothills building is aimed at increasing the capacity of Mina to accommodate more pilgrims.

If the project is approved, it will be connected to Arafat, Muzdalifa and Makkah through a road network connected to the Jamrat Bridge.

For next year's Hajj, US $5.3 million (SAR20 million) has been allocated for the development of Arafat General Hospital. Other plans include initiating the second phase of the Namira Hospital at an estimated cost of $2.6 million and the completed projects including the development of Mina Hospital at a cost of $801,000 and the development of five health centers in Arafat.

According to Khaled Marghalani, spokesman for the Health Ministry, the ministry will begin demolishing Mina Al Wadi Hospital next week to build a new 136-bed hospital in its place. This project will take less than a year and the new hospital will be operational during Hajj 2009.

Some of the other planned projects include designing and planning of car parking lots, drainage of rainwater through the foothills of Mina's northern mountains, and the $400 million rainwater drainage project for roads linking the holy sites to Makkah.

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