Thousands of Chinese are working around-the-clock to build the 18.2 kilometer railway that will link Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat by 2011. A total of 5,000 Chinese workers are involved in the construction. Among them, a total of 1,700 Chinese engineers have also been employed to work on the massive project which started last January. The project has been contracted to the China Rail Construction Corporation (CRCC). The metro will be 35 percent complete for this year's Haj. A source from the CRCC, who did not want to be named, told Saudi Gazette recently that the railway will be able to move three million pilgrims around the Holy Sites when it is completed. He said that the work was started after a comprehensive study was made of the environment. When completed, the railway will replace as many as 53,000 vehicles and buses. The source said that the company is working around-the-clock to finish the first phase before Haj starts this year. This means that all water, sanitation and other facilities disrupted during construction will be ready for pilgrims on Nov. 25. The work will continue in the middle of the month of Dhul-Hijja, after the Haj. The train will pass through nine stations: three located in Arafat; three in Muzdalifah; one at the beginning of Mina; one in the middle of Mina; and the last one on the fourth floor of the Jamarat. So far, 1,200 concrete columns have been built to hold the flyovers for the railway. This work has been conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. He said a special factory had to be built to make the specially reinforced beams needed for the project. There are three phases to the project. The first was to build the beams for the flyovers. The second phase is to build the main station at Arafat near the Makkah-Taif Road. The third phase is to lay down the entire track needed to link all the stations. The Ministry's officials are currently holding weekly meetings with the Chinese company staff to make sure that the work is taking place according to schedule. The Ministry will also assist in any cleaning-up operations needed as each phase of the project is completed.
