Prophet's Mosque second phase expansion nearing completion

King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, who is currently on an inspection tour of Madinah Province, visited the Prophet's Mosque on Sunday evening.

Soon after his arrival in Madinah, the king visited the mosque and performed the Asr prayer. He also visited the grave of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and paid his respects.

During the visit, the king issued a directive to complete the expansion works of the mosque. These include the installation of 182 sunshades to protect worshippers, more places of prayer, parking facilities and the completion of roadwork projects.

King Abdullah has allocated 4.7 billion Saudi riyals (Dh4.6 billion) for the new expansion projects. This is the second-largest expansion of the Mosque after the first in 1986 that created space for one million worshippers during peak times. King Abdullah ordered the expansion works in 2005.

More than 200,000 worshippers will benefit from the sunshade project. The 182 huge automatic umbrellas are meant to protect worshippers from sun and rain.

Expansion works of the eastern and western courtyards of the mosque are also nearing completion.

The expansion of the eastern courtyard would create an additional capacity for 70,000 worshippers with an underground parking area for 420 cars and 70 large buses.

New toilets and boarding stations will also be built. Three tunnels will also be constructed to connect the mosque with King Faisal Road. When completed, the new project would create space for 500,000.