The building of helicopter landing pads at the highest level of the Al-Jamarat Project, including other construction works, have been completed. The helipads will be used in emergencies, said Dr. Habeeb Zain-Al-Abideen, Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs. The company carrying out the Jamarat project started to erect oval tents on its fifth floor on Saturday. The Jamarat is the area where ritual stoning of Satan takes place during Haj. The project will be finished in mid-October this year and will be used for the next Haj season. “All floors have been air-conditioned. An advanced cooling system will be installed on the fifth floor through which water will be sprinkled over the main and surrounding areas. This is expected to lower the temperature by about 29 degrees Centigrade,” he added. The Arafat expansion has also been finished, he said, adding that the project, which started last year, provides a capacity for a further 900,000 pilgrims. The additional area is equivalent to about 25 percent of Arafat's total initial area. The project involved paving main and subsidiary streets, establishing drainage and trimming trees, the deputy minister said.
