MAKKAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah opened a state-of-the-art purification station to maintain the quality of Zamzam water in Makkah on Friday.
The king was in the district of Kudai to launch the initiative, which was named in his honor.
The SR700 million station will purify five million liters of the blessed water every day through two main purification lines, each using a number of filters and a sterilization unit.
Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen said 10 million liters would be stored in a tank, from which water will be pumped to the Grand Mosque through four stainless steel pipes, each with a diameter of 200 millimeters.
He said another two million liters would be pumped every day to a nearby factory, which will package the water.
The station has buildings containing reserve electricity generators that produce 10 megawatts of power.
"It also incorporates the latest technology to monitor the purification process from the moment water is pumped out of the well to when it is packaged in containers. It has air cooling, early warning, smoke detecting and sprinkler systems," the minister said.
Once the Zamzam water is treated and stored, it is automatically pumped to 42 distribution stations. Pilgrims and visitors can obtain 10-liter containers of the water at these points by inserting coins in special machines, he added.
"The project took 30 months to be completed. It is being complemented by two other schemes aimed at improving the distribution of Zamzam water inside the Haram," he said.
One project involves improving containers of the blessed water in the Grand Mosque by making them more spacious and easier to draw water from.
More than 5,000 such containers will be distributed before the next Haj season. Under the second project, special devices will be installed in the Grand Mosque for the automatic cleaning and sterilization of these containers, he said.
The king pressed on the electronic button to open the facility invoking the name of Almighty Allah. The king also viewed a documentary on the operation of the project. The king then drank the Zamzam water.
The king opened the automatic washing facility of containers. He then toured the facility and was briefed on the operations of various sections.
On his arrival at the venue, a boy and girl presented the king with bouquets of roses.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, together with Prince Turki bin Faisal, president general of the affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque Saleh bin Al-Hussayen and the water and electricity minister welcomed the King on his arrival.
Prince Abdul Ilah, adviser to the king, and Prince Muqrin, chief of general intelligence, also attended the function.
By Badea Abu Al-Naja
© Arab News 2010
