King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has ordered major new expansion work on the Prophet's Mosque in Madina with space for 318,000 worshippers, as authorities in the Kingdom plan for a projected 10 million visitors per year. The mosque can currently accommodate around 600,000 worshippers. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al-Faleh, Deputy Chief of the Presidency of Affairs of the Prophet's Mosque, told Saudi Gazette that the move comes in response to requests from Muslim nations to increase visitor numbers and that the Ministry of Haj planned, through expansions in Makkah and Madina, to host 10 million pilgrims per year. The new east and west plazas in Madina, Al-Faleh noted, come in the wake of expansion works already under way in Makkah, and are to be accompanied by the provision of other amenities such as car parks and toilet facilities. Access will be provided by new roads leading to the plazas, with taxi and bus facilities also planned, Al-Faleh said. Abdul Haq Al-Uqabi, head of the Central Zone Development Committee, said that the extension would comprise 176,000 sq. m on the two sides, hosting 318,000 worshippers. Prince Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Madina Region, said on Wednesday that work on the expansions would begin immediately. The construction project will include a new bus station and an underground car park, the Emir said. Although it is not part of the annual Haj pilgrimage, pilgrims travel to Madina to pray in the Prophet's Mosque.
