"The heavy traffic on the Makkah-Jeddah expressway will ease with the reconstruction of the old Makkah-Jeddah highway," Al-Seraisry said yesterday at a press conference after an inspection tour of work sites in Mina.

The 40-km-long first phase of the road, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2010, will have four lanes in each direction, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday quoting the minister.

The Civil Defense Directorate in Makkah, meanwhile, issued a warning to pilgrims against setting up makeshift camps in pedestrian tunnels because this might hinder the movement of pilgrims and become likely flashpoints for accidents.

Squatting in pedestrian paths has been blamed for exacerbating potentially dangerous crowd conditions in the past.

Pilgrims mostly use the several-kilometer-long pedestrian tunnels to travel between Makkah and Mina during Haj.

The directorate urged pilgrims to follow the safety instructions posted on all roads and tunnels in Makkah and the holy sites. It also urged pilgrims not to drop rubbish in the pedestrian tunnels.

Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Habib Zainul Abideen, who is acting secretary-general of Makkah and Madinah Development Authority, said the third floor of the Jamrat Bridge would be thrown open to pilgrims this year.

The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will provide housing for pilgrims in the newly built residential towers in Mina. These high-rise buildings, constructed with investments from the General Organization for Social Insurance and the Pension Fund, can house up to 25,000 pilgrims in 810 rooms. The ministry is studying the construction of more such buildings.

The Makkah Municipality has recruited 7,000 cleaning workers to keep the city clean round the clock. They will operate 212 dumpster trucks, 178 hydraulic trucks and 232 other cleaning equipment, according to a statement by Abdul Salam Mashat, undersecretary for services at the Makkah mayor's office. Special arrangements are in place to handle flood situations, he said.

A team of 100 workers with 10 machines will be deployed to clean the central area of Makkah. Some 200 big garbage bins have been placed at locations where pilgrims frequent in large numbers but where truck entry is difficult.

More than 10,000 tons of garbage has been removed over the past six days in this area, according to city officials.

The municipality has set up special committees to ensure that food outlets and wayside traders observe all hygienic specifications.

© Arab News 2008

 

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