Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — The first phase of the SR170 million strategic water storage project in Makkah will be completed by the end of the second quarter of next year with a capacity of 560,000 cubic meters, Al-Madina newspaper reported on Tuesday quoting a senior official of the National Water Company (NWC). Saeed Bin Mohammed Al-Amri, director of the NWC's projects department, said the company is continuing the establishment of its strategic projects in Makkah to provide water to the holy city and the Grand Mosque especially during the peak times of Haj and Umrah. He said the company is currently constructing four giant water tanks for the Grand Mosque. Amri said each of the cylinder-shaped steel tank is 20 meters high with a diameter of 98 meters and a capacity of 140,000 cubic meters of water. He said the project has been 60 percent completed and added that the four tanks together will have a combined capacity of 560,000 cubic meters of water. He said the NWC has completed studying the second phase of the strategic water storage in Al-Sharia District which will have a storage capacity of 1.3 million cubic meters of water. Amri said the project is being implemented in collaboration with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation. "With the completion of the first and second phases, Makkah will have a storage water capacity of about 4.2 million cubic meters," he said. "This will constitute a quantitative leap in the water security for Makkah and the holy sites and will enable the company to meet any future demand," he added.
