Over 1,000 buildings have been demolished as part of a mega-project for the expansion of the Grand Mosque launched in March this year. Adequate compensation has already been paid to the owners of the acquired and demolished houses and buildings, Osama Fadhl Al-Bar, mayor of Makkah and member of the Supreme Council for Beautification of Makkah told Saudi Gazette recently. Owners of buildings close to the Grand Mosque were given compensation of SR400,000 per square meter. The compensation rate for buildings 100 meters away from the Grand Mosque was settled at SR150,000 per square meter. Buildings right on top of Jebel (Mountain) Hindi were paid at SR15,000 per square meter. The total compensation amounted to SR5 billion for the total demolished area of 300,000 square meters, Al-Bar said. The addition of a new annex, expected to be completed in three years, will connect an earlier annex completed under the late King Fahd. It has been designed to give a unified shape to the entire extension with a total shaded area of 72,500 square meters. The project consists of a basement, ground floor, first floor and a planned addition of second floor, all of which will be air-conditioned. The walkways of glazed marble tiles will emit cool air. The additional space will be 500 meters long and 145 meters wide with a total area of 72,500 square meters, which can accommodate 500,000 worshippers, Al-Bar said. __
