by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodities, Commodities News, Commodity Market, Investing, Muslim World
Makkah : Members of the Saudi Arabian Scouts Association, serving Umrah pilgrims at the Grand Mosque, have been in joint efforts with staff at the Ministry of Trade and Investment to monitor commodity prices in Makkah.
The scouts are ensuring that sellers are adhering to price tags on items and are keeping an eye on attempts of commercial fraud.
Scout head Abdel Aziz Abdul Rahman Al-Ghanam said the cooperation has intensified its effort during the last ten days of Ramadan, by dedicating several scout units to aid the ministry in detecting any violations.
The scouting units are spread across the central areas surrounding the Grand Mosque joined by ministry officials. The units also help detect damaged goods, and anything unfit for human consumption.
The scouts received training on the hands of ministry officials on the mechanism of quality control. They succeeded in the past days of detecting items that are replicas of high-end brands being sold to consumers, as well as items that aren’t abiding by the ministry’s policies.
—AG/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : A mobile crane lever has fallen inside Mecca’s Grand Mosque, injuring one worker.
According to Saudi Gazette, the crane driver was slightly injured in the crash after the arm of the small crane collapsed in a construction site in the Grand Mosque on Sunday, Khaleej Times reported.
The work zone is not open to Umrah pilgrims, worshippers or visitors.
The Governate stressed on its website that the lever fell in a working area and not a prayer place or a path for pilgrims, Kuna reported.
Necessary precautionary measures were taken after the incident.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Investing, Muslim World
Riyadh : Saudi Arabia on Monday announced a plan to launch a company to increase the capacity of the Grand Mosque in Mecca to accommodate pilgrims who are expected to reach more than 30 million by 2030.
The company’s establishment is in line with Vision 2030, which aims to provide an opportunity for the largest possible number of Muslims to perform Haj and Umrah and to enrich their experience through the development of the Grand Mosque.
The Public Investment Fund announced in a statement on Saudi Press Agency the launch of Rou’a Al Haram company to develop areas around the holy sites of Mecca and raise the quality of services in the local hospitality sector.
The projects will create around 160,000 job opportunities by 2030, with an estimated annual contribution to GDP of $2.1 billion, Xinhua news agency reported.
The first phase of the company’s projects will cover an area of 854,000 square metres, delivering 115 buildings of various architectural designs.
Altogether 70,000 new hotel rooms will enable the site to receive 310,000 visitors per day. Also, the first phase will see the development of around 9,000 residential units, 360,000 square metres of commercial space and prayer areas designated for more than 400,000 worshipers.
The project will be only less than 1.5 km away from the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam.
Rou’a Al Haram will raise the level of development in the areas surrounding the Grand Mosque, making it among the best examples of development worldwide, the report said.
Also, it will support job creation and investment as part of a wider plan to diversify the national economy.
Initial preparation works were underway, with construction due to start in 2018. The first phase of the project is anticipated to launch in 2024.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Makkah : Saudi Binladin Group will restart work next month on the $26.6 billion expansion project of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, nearly two years after work stopped in the wake of a crane collapse at the site that killed 107 people, sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Work will resume after the annual Hajj pilgrimage, and Saudi Binladin will pay outstanding salaries owed to staff involved in the project beginning on August 20, according to a notice that the company sent to banks.
Banking and construction industry sources confirmed the plan. Saudi Binladin, one of the country’s top construction conglomerates, and the Ministry of Finance were not immediately available to comment.
Development of the Grand Mosque and its surrounding area to accommodate more worshippers was halted after the fatal construction accident in September 2015, and then remained on hold as government finances were squeezed by low oil prices.
The government is now enjoying a moderate recovery in oil income, and it is keen to resume work on big religious tourism and infrastructure schemes as part of a drive to diversify the economy beyond oil exports.
Its plan to restart construction at the Grand Mosque is a fresh sign of the rehabilitation of Saudi Binladin, which was temporarily banned from winning new state contracts after the crane collapse and has been damaged financially by a deep slump in the construction sector.
The Ministry of Finance has allocated a portion of this year’s budget to key projects and has been in talks with Saudi Binladin in recent weeks about restarting several big schemes, the sources said. The ministry pledged to make payments that would enable Binladin to pay its staff, they said.
Another stalled government project in which Saudi Binladin is involved, the $3.5 billion construction of the Abraj Kudai hotel complex in Makkah, will restart in coming months, sources told Reuters earlier this week.
The company also restarted work earlier this year on the new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.
—AG/IINA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Makkah (IINA) – The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque launched on Tuesday its mobile phone charging service, Makkah newspaper reported.
The presidency announced in October that it would launch a new service providing outlets in the Grand Mosque to allow pilgrims and worshippers to charge their mobile phones, said presidency’s Vice President Mashhour Al-Munimi. Mobile phone charging points have been provided at various pillars inside the Grand Mosque. The charging points have eight outlets. There are pockets to place mobile phones while they are charging. “The presidency aims to always serve pilgrims and worshippers,” said Al-Munimi.
He added that each person will only be allowed to charge for five minutes when the mosque is crowded. “The presidency is not responsible for the phones in case they are lost or damaged,” said Al-Munimi.
