Civil Defense personnel are ready to deal with emergencies at the construction site. — Okaz photo Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – A total of 11,000 workers, including engineers, technicians, masons and laborers, have been employed for the largest-ever expansion of the Grand Mosque in history. The 750,000 sq. meter project has been divided into three sections. The first section will expand the Haram to accommodate two million worshippers at a time. The second section will expand and develop the outside courtyards, and it includes toilets, pathways and tunnels, and auxiliary facilities. This has been designed to facilitate the entry and exit of worshippers. The third section will develop the services area including air-conditioning and power generating plants. The new part will be linked to the existing mosque and Mas'a by a series of bridges. The expansion project includes parts of the old districts opposite the Haram, such as Al-Shamyia, Al-Mada and Qara. The expansion stretches from the Grand Mosque Street to the east and continues to Khaled Bin Al-Waleed Street where it takes the shape of a crescent. It also heads to the west until it reaches Jabl Al-Ka'ba Street. Lt. Gen. Saad Al-Tewijiri, Civil Defense Director General, said worshippers and workers will be safe during the construction because international safety measures have been put in place. Meanwhile, the Civil Defense will increase the number of aircraft dealing with emergency cases during Ramadan, said Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Eid Al-Harbi, Commander of Civil Defense Air Force. “Five highly advanced aircraft will participate in rescue, first-aid and firefighting operations,” he said. __
