Faisal, Emir of Makkah and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, gave the go-ahead for the 3rd phase of the bus shuttle project between the holy sites of Muzdalifah and Arafat during his inspection tour of the holy sites in Makkah Wednesday, a week ahead of the start of this year's Haj. The 3rd phase of the shuttle project has been designed to serve over 260,000 pilgrims from Iran and non-Arab African countries, increasing the number of pilgrims benefiting from the project to 750,000. The 4th phase of the project will be designed to serve pilgrims from Arab and Southeast Asian countries. The holy sites monorail project, however, will be partially operational for next year's Haj. And it is expected to be fully functional in 2011 to serve nearly 900,000 pilgrims. The Emir's tour started at the Jamarat Bridge which has now two helicopter landing areas for emergency cases. The 5th floor of the bridge has been shaded to protect pilgrims from sunstroke, said Habib Bin Mustafa Zein Al-Abideen, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Chairman of the Projects Development Administration. The entire Jamarat area is undergoing a massive renovation to allow millions of visitors to complete the rites in a safe and secure manner. Courtyards are being enlarged and separate roads laid out for pedestrians and vehicles. Prince Khaled also inspected new health projects in the holy sites including Mina Wadi Hospital, the headquarters of the emergency and crisis management administration, and the dengue fever combating center. In Arafat, the prince was briefed on the development of foothills to increase the capacity of this holy site.
