Properties around Madinah being acquired for expansion project

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has issued instructions for the acquisition of property toward the east of the Holy Mosque in Madinah where an expansion project was launched in 2006, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.

Habib Zain Al-Abdeen, acting secretary-general of the High Authority to Develop Makkah and Madinah, said the properties to be acquired extend from the eastern side of the mosque to the first ring road (King Faisal) going up until the Al-Safa district in the north. Details of project’s costs and the compensation that will be paid to the owners of property that come under the expansion will soon be announced, and will be in line with the established compensation system, he added.

The new expansion, which may cost over SR7 billion, will include the Bani Al-Najjar Project area, the old maternity hospital and the Al-Dikhail hotel.

The new expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque from the eastern side will cover an area of 37,000 sq m and will accommodate more than 70,000 worshippers. It will also provide parking for about 420 vehicles and 70 buses. There will be three underground tunnels linking the expansion to the first ring road. King Abdullah laid down the foundation stone for the new expansion two years ago. The expansion, to cost at more than SR4.7 billion, is to create space for over 200,000 worshippers.