The government plans to construct new buildings in Mina after Haj which on completion will see the Tent City accommodate three million pilgrims, said Dr. Habeeb Zain Al-Abideen, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and General Supervisor for the Development of Mina. The Ministry of Haj will also be involved in the projects. The plan is to construct a multistory building on the slopes of the Mina mountains and multistory tents over three to five years. The two projects will house 1.5 million pilgrims, which will bring the total capacity in Mina to three million. Additional infrastructure to be built includes roads, pedestrian walkways and a new train station. The Board of Senior Ulama will be given full details of all the designs. He said multinational companies will be asked to tender for the projects. It is expected that the projects will be funded by the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI). Economic experts said the six buildings already operating in Mina have generated a net income of SR100 million which shows that the projects can be profitable. Dr. Muhammad Abdullah Idris, Deputy Principal of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Haj Research Center for Academic Affairs, said the center will launch a comprehensive field study that will tackle all the shortcomings related to housing, traffic and overcrowding in Mina. He said the study will be carried out by experts at the institute, in addition to 30 specialists from different government agencies. The center has already submitted 10 studies to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, for final approval. He said some of these studies include projects for separate pedestrian and multipurpose roads. He said the Haj Central and Higher Committees have assigned a research team of five researchers from the institute to review the operational map of the central area in Makkah. __
