Work on SR20bn Makkah monorail to begin after Haj
P. K. Abdul Ghafour | Arab News
JEDDAH: Work on the first phase of an SR20 billion Makkah monorail project will
start in December soon after the Haj season to facilitate transportation of
pilgrims between the holy sites of Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa. The
project is designed to transport five million pilgrims.
“An agreement will be signed with the winner of the contract to implement the
project soon after Haj,” said Dr. Habeeb Zain Al-Abidine, deputy minister of
municipal and rural affairs and secretary-general of the Commission for
Development of Makkah, Madinah and the Holy Sites. Five specialized
international companies, which were short-listed from 10, are competing for the
multibillion dollar project, he said, adding that a meeting chaired by Prince
Miteb, minister of municipal and rural affairs and chairman of the commission,
would be held tomorrow to open their tenders.
Zain Al-Abidine said a feasibility study conducted by an international company
had proposed five monorails linking the holy sites. Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah has given his approval to the project that will ease
transportation of more than three million pilgrims between the holy sites.
“The feasibility study suggested the second monorail be built two to three
years after the construction of the first one,” he said, adding that a single
monorail would cost SR4 billion. The first monorail beginning from Mina will
transport nearly one million pilgrims including 360,000 Arab pilgrims.
Monorail, which is a single rail serving as the track for a wheeled or
(magnetically) levitating vehicle, has been rapidly paving its way as a modern
urban transit system, providing the most-sought-after transportation solutions
for a built-up congested city. The Makkah monorails will be 8 to 10 meters
above the ground to ensure smooth flow of pedestrians and vehicles.
Zain Al-Abidine said the implementation of the project in the holy sites would
help withdraw 25,000 buses from a total of 70,000 used by domestic pilgrims as
well as pilgrims who come by land from neighboring countries. He said the
system would help transport at least 500,000 pilgrims within six to eight hours.
According to the present study, monorails will have a station west of the
stoning area in Mina in order to transport pilgrims to the second and fourth
levels of the high-tech Jamrat Bridge .
With Kind Regards
Mohammad Usman
Jeddah-SAUDI ARABIA
* "O Prophet (pbuh) preach to them (the Truth), for preaching proves beneficial
for the Believers" <Adh-Dhariyat: 55>
** "O Messenger {Muhammad (pbuh)}! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent
down to you from your Lord." <Al-Maidah: 67>
*** Accept the True faith, do righteous deeds, recommend the Truth and patience
to one another. <As recommended in Al-Asr: 03>
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