The massive expansion of the Grand Mosque's northern courtyards will be completed by the middle of next year, Abbas Qattan, Assistant Deputy Mayor for Construction and Projects and Chairman of the Committee for the Development of the Northern Courtyards (CDNC), said here Monday. The project will see the construction of four floors with parking lots and restrooms, Qattan added. It will be as high as the new Masa'a, with three circle-shaped courtyards, each with an area of 40 meters. Underneath the courtyards, there will be floors with police stations, Civil Defense offices, ambulances, security forces and large restrooms, Qattan said. “The huge King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Gate will be in the northern part. On top of the gate there will be two huge minarets engraved with Islamic decorations.” Dr. Yousuf Al-Wabil, Assistant Deputy President for Services at the General Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, said the expansion plan has taken into consideration the requirements of the presidency and the security forces and built facilities and offices for them. There are also modern mechanical and electrical systems, fountains for drinking water, waste disposal equipment and security systems. The outside courtyards will be covered to provide protection from the sun and will be connected to the Masa'a by several bridges. There will be escalators and elevators that save energy and resources. When the expansion is complete, over two million people will be able to pray in the courtyards.” The total area of the new expansion project is 356,000 sq. meters. The previous expansion projects covered an area of 152,000 sq. meters, Al-Wabil added. Muhammad Abdullah Idris and Abdullah Muhammad Fodah, researchers at the Department of Urban and Engineering Research, recently conducted a study called “Urban Study to Develop the Grand Mosque's Northern Courtyards” which revealed that the courtyards are connected to the roads and paths of the Central Area. These courtyards play a major role in reducing overcrowding in the Grand Mosque because they accommodate large numbers of worshippers. The study has also revealed that although enormous projects have been implemented in the northern courtyard of the Grand Mosque, it is the smallest area possibly due to topographic reasons. The area is 10 to 40 meters higher than the ground of the Grand Mosque. Idris and Fodah said that the study looked at further development of the northern courtyards without changing the natural environment of the area. To produce the right vision, the study has taken into consideration economic and architectural factors and traffic flow into the area. __
