Makkah News and Updates

Friday 19 April 2013

Minister of Haj Bandar Hajjar signed an agreement yesterday with Yemeni Minister of Endowments and Guidance Hammoud Abbad for the upcoming Haj.
Abbad thanked the Saudi authorities for looking after his country's Haj and Umrah pilgrims.

He also praised the Kingdom for the huge expansion work currently under way at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and the holy sites.

“With the completion of the grand projects, such as the expansion of the mataf (circumambulating area around the Kaaba) and the courtyards of the Grand Mosque, pilgrims will be able to perform their rites in vastly increased comfort and peace,” Abbad said after signing the agreement with Hajjar.
Abbad had discussions with Saudi officials about preparations for Yemeni pilgrims.

Underscoring Saudi-Yemeni relations, the visiting dignitary said the two countries were like a "single family with overwhelming feelings of love and brotherliness accentuated by geographical closeness under the wise leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi."

Umrah season

Meanwhile, the Haj Ministry has taken every possible step to make Umrah comfortable and safe for millions of pilgrims who have been performing the pilgrimage since Dec. 14. A total of six million Umrah pilgrims are expected this year.

More than two million pilgrims completed their Umrah rites and returned home over the past five months.

"So far 2,634,934 foreign pilgrims have performed Umrah out of the 3,107,342 people to whom visas have been issued since the beginning of the season," Hajjar said in a statement during a visit to a religious exhibition in the northern border city of Arar on Wednesday.

"Be a Preacher"

The Haj Ministry showcased its services and achievements at its pavilion at the exhibition called "Be a Preacher," organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call and Guidance under the aegis of Northern Border Province Gov. Prince Abdullah.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/448682

Friday 19 April 2013

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will inspect several vital and developmental projects in Makkah tomorrow.

His visit will include the headquarters of Bawabah Company and the exhibition held there, according to local media. His next stop will be at the Wahat Makkah project where he will check out the residential units that have been completed recently. He will later inspect the old Makkah-Jeddah road, and the intersection of the old road with the third ring road, as well as other projects.

The agenda of the prince’s visit will include the plazas of the Grand Mosque, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Mosque and King Abdulaziz Road.

Al-Zahareen district will also be included in the governor’s visit. He will also inspect Al-Haramain train station to see firsthand the stage of construction.

Meanwhile, construction work at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz project for the expansion of mataf is in full swing. The plan is to complete the first phase of the project before the middle of May. (?)

Muhammad bin Nasser Al-Khazeem, vice president of the Grand Mosque affairs, said that the expansion of mataf to accommodate more worshippers is receiving the special care and attention of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. “This will contribute to the comfort and safety of all worshipers during Haj and Umrah,” he said.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/448671

Saturday 20 April 2013

Small business families from Makkah participated for the first time at the 28th Janadriyah National Festival for Heritage and Culture which came to an end yesterday.

Makkah Pavilion supervisor Abdul Rahman Muminah said their slogan was “Made in Makkah.” He said Makkah’s governor is keen to support small business families in the province because of their significant role in reviving Makkah’s cultural heritage by displaying their exceptional traditional handicrafts.

Shahinaz Gouda, a modern accessories designer and one of the participants, said the festival arrangements were “superb.” She was impressed by the huge layout “that was so well put up and managed.”

She expressed delight and pleasure to have the chance to participate in the festival and introduce her craft, which she inherited from her mother and grandmother. Gouda said she was proud not only to preserve the craft but also to turn it into a profitable profession by modernizing the designs while maintaining the traditional methods of manufacturing.

She explained that her handicraft are made of agarwood (oud) pieces that are combined with some gems, pearls and silver ornaments to create aesthetic accessories.

“The ‘Made in Makah’ label attracted lot of buyers,” she said.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/448749

Saturday 20 April 2013

Most government projects are not designed to withstand earthquakes except the newest ones in the Jamarat area in Makkah, said Habib Zainul Abideen, deputy minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs.

He warned that the current building code used in Saudi Arabia was not sufficient to resist earthquakes and tremors. Importers are trying to bring poor-quality building materials into Saudi Arabia. Government has now set up specialized quality control laboratories to test structural materials.

“Our labs stopped many below-standard construction steel from entering the country. The importers claimed they were from Europe but they turned out to be poorly made steel from some Asian countries,” Zainul Abideen said.

Now every importer and local contractor double-checks their materials before bringing them in because they know that Saudi Arabia has specialized and advanced laboratories, he added.

“These labs conducted 500,000 random tests of building materials at construction projects. These tests helped contractors find mistakes in their projects at an early stage,” he said. The deputy minister was speaking to the media at a ministry press conference to announce the upcoming symposium and exhibition on quality control laboratories for structural projects.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/448782

7/04/2013

More than 20,000 Muslims from Russia will go on pilgrimage known as the Hajj to Saudi Arabia this autumn. The 2013 Hajj quota for Russian Muslims will be 20,500 people under a document signed by the Saudi Arabian side, Damir Gizatullin, the first vice-chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of European Russia (DUMER), said after paying a working trip to Saudi Arabia as part of the Hajj mission.

The same quotas were set in 2012. This year the pilgrimage to Muslim holy sites will take place in October, the press service of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of European Russia reported.

In Saudi Arabia, the Russian Muslim delegation met Saudi deputy minister for Hajj Khatem Ben Hassan Qadi who praised Russian pilgrims for good discipline and observation of Hajj rituals.

The Russian delegation thanked the Ministry of Hajj of Saudi Arabia for attention given to Russian pilgrims and asked to increase quotas for Russian Muslims on grounds that the Muslim population in Russia was growing and the existing quotas were not enough to meet the needs of Russian Muslims.

Hassan Qadi explained that it was impossible to increase the quotas at the moment because of construction works in Mecca, including the renovation of the Holy Mosque al-Haram. For the same reason, the movement of pilgrims from one holy place to another will be possible only according to schedule in 2013.

More than 12,000 Russian pilgrims will arrive in Saudi Arabia by charter and regular flights. The rest will land in the Jordanian city of Aqaba from where buses will take them to the sacred places. For safety reasons, each bus will have two drivers who will work in shifts.

The Russian Muslim delegation thanked Sergei Kuznetsov, the Russian general consul in Jeddah, for help and support in organizing talks with the Saudi authorities.

http://indrus.in/news/2013/04/07/ove...s_y_23601.html

21 April 2013 - 11 Jumada Al-Akhir 1434 H

MAKKAH – Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, said Saturday that Makkah would be in a new attire with the completion of several gigantic development projects, including the largest-ever expansion of the Grand Mosque, within the coming two to three years.

He noted that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has made promises and fulfilled these promises especially in developing the Holy City.

The Emir made these remarks while addressing a press conference after his inspection tour of the development projects being implemented in the city, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Referring to the huge allocations of funds to implement several massive projects in Makkah, Prince Khaled said: “Makkah region is witnessing implementation of several giant projects. Had these projects been implemented in a small country, it would have been enough for it. With all determination and seriousness, we are racing against time to finish these projects without affecting the spirituality of the Holy City,” he said.

Prince Khaled reemphasized the resolve of Saudi leadership in preserving the unique and sublime position and identity of Makkah while implementing these projects.

Referring to the ongoing massive projects, the Emir said that there are several ring roads, infrastructure projects, public transport projects, expansion of the Grand Mosque and its mataf (circumambulating area), development of unplanned districts, in addition to drainage projects. He unveiled plans to make Makkah the smartest city in the world.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20130421162288

Sunday 21 April 2013

The compensation to owners of expropriated properties within the Grand Mosque northern courtyards’ expansion project is estimated at SR 133 billion. Of this, SR 50 billion have been disbursed.

Compensation is estimated on the basis of the property's proximity to the mosque. The highest compensation rate was for properties in Harat Albab where a square meter reached SR 450,000 in some areas.

Abbas bin Abdulghani Qattan, supervisor general of the Committee on Development of Northern Courtyards and Major Projects at Makkah Municipality, told a local newspaper that compensation for some properties had remained unpaid because of title deeds issues that are being settled in courts.

“The compensations paid during the first phase of the expansion project reached SR 40 billion,” Qattan said. “The second, third and fourth stages are expected to witness disbursements of SR 30 billion, SR 30 billion and SR 33 billion, respectively,” he said. “Owners of 200 properties are unknown and no one claimed them.”

There is a regulation for old properties owned by non-Saudis or entities such as endowments. If the foreign owner is abroad, compensation will be paid with 20 percent of its value deducted and deposited in the state treasury, he said.

Three train stations

There will be three train stations around the Grand Mosque. Railway tracks will be underground in some areas and on the surface in others, he said.

Qattan said the last stage of the expansion project includes train stations and courtyards. This stage covers Shaab Amer area and parts of Almasfala and Jarwal districts, where properties were expropriated and will be removed.

Road and tunnel

“Saudi Binladin Company has started working on road and tunnel project modifications to cope with the expansion,” he said. “More than 1,600 properties were expropriated and 614 of them were removed during this stage that was approved a year ago. Two weeks from now we will start demolition works in Almasfala.”

Some owners are not satisfied with the estimation of their properties’ value and some filed cases with the Administrative Court that reportedly issued verdicts stipulating reassessment.

“I received no notes about re-estimating properties,” Qattan said. “When we determined the compensation five years ago there were no complaints, but now the owners of some properties, whose prices have increased as a result of the removal of other properties between them and the Grand Mosque, are demanding a higher compensation because their buildings are now overlooking the mosque.”

However, he said the basis for pricing properties will remain unchanged.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/448867

Sunday 21 April 2013

The development and expansion projects in Makkah have not wiped out the holy city's identity and history, said Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal yesterday.

He said the government is protecting the city's heritage. “Of all the countries that have ruled Makkah, Saudi Arabia has undertaken the greatest reforms in the city. The expansion projects are conducted in a modern and sophisticated manner.”

He said pilgrims have been making positive comments about changes in the city.

He said certain Twitter users are unfairly criticizing changes in the city. “There are many who hate this country and don't like to see these achievements taking place during King Abdullah's era,” he said.

He said the city authorities are facing challenges with real estate expropriation and companies not completing projects on time. “We are dealing with these issues with tolerance but we must be strict with companies and government departments.”

King Abdullah has told officials that they no longer have any excuses for missing project deadlines, he added.

Meanwhile, he said that some government departments have started to study how to correct the situation of minorities other than the Burmese. He said it was important to take care of this issue.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/448862