The Project of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz to expand the Holy Harram (Grand Mosque) in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Al-Madinah reflects the Kingdom’s dedication to the service of Islam and Muslims. King Fahd has accorded the expansion project priority in the Kingdom’s development plans, and has personally overseen realisation of the project’s goals.
Under directives of the King, the government has spent over SR70 billion on the expansion project in the past few years alone.
With implementation of the expansion program, the area of the Grand Mosque now totals 356,000 square-metres. The mosque used to cover an area of 152,000 square-metres. The mosque can now receive 770,000 worshippers, compared to 340,000 worshippers previously. The project includes the area surrounding the mosque, covering over 40,000 square-metres, which can accommodate more than 65,000 worshippers.
The Prophet’s Mosque in Al-Madinah was expanded to cover a total area of 165,000 square-metres in order to accommodate more than 270,000 worshipers. The area surrounding the mosque was extended to 235,000 square-metres to receive 430,000 worshippers.
Source: SPA
