Monarch inaugurates SR700m Zamzam water project Five million liters of Zamzam water filtered dailyMAKKAH – King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, inaugurated Friday the SR700-million King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Zamzam Water project in Makkah. The project is located in Kuday District (some 4.5 km from the Haram) and is aimed at maintaining the purity of Zamzam water using the latest technology in water treatment and distributing it in an automated fashion. According to Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayan, Minister of Water and Electricity, five million liters of Zamzam water is filtered daily through two filtering lines. “At the end of each filtering line, there is a sterilization unit which can store a maximum of 10 million liters of filtered Zamzam water. The filtered Zamzam water is then pumped through four water pumps to the Grand Mosque in Makkah via stainless steel pipes of a diameter of 200mm,” said Al-Hussayan. Part of the filtered Zamzam water is sent for filling water containers. The filling factory is built on a 13,405-square-meter area which was dedicated by late King Fahd for the old Zamzam water project. The recent container filling factory has a capacity to store up to 200,000 jerry cans. The Zamzam water project consists of seven facilities to support the process of maintaining the purity of Zamzam water. The project also consists of an automated storing center that can store up to 1.5 million 10-liter cans. This store will be used to cover the pilgrims' increased need for Zamzam water during Haj. Mansour Abu Rayash, chairman of Makkah Commission for Real State in Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it is a development project and not an investment and is a gift from the King to all Muslims. Dr. Thamer Al-Harbi, Dean of Haj Research Institute, said the project will make a major shift in Zamzam water filling and distribution service. “It will end all the random and unorganized sale and distribution points of Zamzam water in Kuday and Al-Ghaza districts and will make it easily available for visitors to the Holy City. King Abdullah was received by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah; Prince Turki Al-Faisal; Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayan, General President for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques; Engineer Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayan, Minister of Water and Electricity; and other senior officials. Meanwhile, the King held talks with visiting Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Miniser Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabr Al-Thani at Al-Safa palace in Makkah Friday evening. The Qatari guest conveyed to the Monarch the greetings of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar. The King sent his greetings to the Emir. Then the overall developments at the Islamic, Arab and international arenas were discussed in addition to aspects of cooperation between the two sisterly countries. The audience was attended by Prince Abdul-Ilah Bin Abdul Aziz, Adviser to the King; Prince Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz, Chief of the General Intelligence; and Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah, Minister of Education. FAO medal for Abdullah King Abdullah was decorated Friday with the Agricola Agricultural Medal by Dr. Jack Diouf, Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This is the highest prize to be bestowed by the organization on world figures who support agricultural development and combat hunger and poverty. Dr. Diouf expressed pride and gratitude in awarding the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques the Agricola Agricultural Medal by FAO in appreciation for his efforts to develop social agriculture at the national and international levels.
