Third Expansion of Grand Mosque Launched by King Abdullah, Completed by King Salman

King Salman bin Abdulaziz is briefed on the expansion project in May 2015. (SPA)
King Salman bin Abdulaziz is briefed on the expansion project in May 2015. (SPA)
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Third Expansion of Grand Mosque Launched by King Abdullah, Completed by King Salman

King Salman bin Abdulaziz is briefed on the expansion project in May 2015. (SPA)
King Salman bin Abdulaziz is briefed on the expansion project in May 2015. (SPA)

The third expansion of the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah was its largest in history. Throughout the centuries, the expansions would focus on raising the capacity of worshippers. The central Mataf area has maintained its size over the years given the limited space available to expand it, so focus would often turn to the surrounding structures.

In 2005, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz ordered that a study be made over expanding the capacity at the Grand Mosque to receive more worshippers and Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.

The expansion was implemented with the addition of four floors to the al-Masaa area to accommodate 120,000 people per hour. The Mataf area was expanded to accommodate 105,000 people per hour. The northern building of the Grand Mosque was expanded to accommodate more worshippers and the number of columns throughout was reduced to make more space for people and combat crowding.

Foundation

In August 2011, King Abdullah laid the foundation for the greatest expansion in the Grand Mosque’s history. The expansion was not only the most expensive and most expansive in terms of accommodating more worshippers, but the most advanced architecturally and technically and on the health, security and sustainable levels.

The King Abdullah expansion project included expanding the main building of the Grand Mosque, the Masaa and Mataf areas and outer courtyards, increasing the number of bridges and constructing central services and security buildings. It also called for the construction of a central hospital and pedestrian tunnels, transportation stations and bridges that lead to the Grand Mosques. Infrastructure improvements related to electricity, water storage, sanitation and others, were also introduced.

The project utilized the best advanced systems available in saving energy, as well as lighting and sound systems, air conditioning, fire alarms and surveillance cameras. Five power generation stations were built, and the best ventilation systems were put in place.

The King Abdullah zamzam project was inaugurated in 2010 to raise the bottling of the holy water to 200,000 bottles per day.

At its conclusion, the third Saudi expansion of the Grand Mosque increased its area to 750,000 square meters to accommodate over 2.5 million worshippers at a cost of 300 billion riyals (80 billion dollars).

Behind the scenes

A royal decree was issued to the Ministry of Education to form a technical team of various specializations to come up with the architectural design and technical aspects of the expansion. Local and international firms and Saudi universities were invited to submit their proposals.

The best proposal was submitted by the King Saud University. Staff and students came up with the plan after 40 days of tireless work.

Dean of the College of Architecture and Planning and head of the design team Dr. Abdulaziz al-Muqrin recalled that the proposal competed against 14 presentations that were submitted by local and international firms and other faculties.

A royal decree chose the King Saud University proposal to serve as the foundation of the expansion project, which would be developed further with more experts.

Dr. al-Muqrin spoke with pride of the hard work put in by his team of 24 colleagues and students in coming up with the design between 2008 and 2009. The university was tasked with developing the design and a university team, headed by Dr. Al-Muqrin, joined experts, selected by the Ministry of Higher Education, to carry out their work.

King Salman era

The third expansion continued after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s ascension to the throne in January 2015. He vowed that the Kingdom will remain committed to its responsibilities in serving the two holy mosques, following in the footsteps of the kings and rulers who preceded him.

On May 30, 2015, he inspected the expansion and ordered that all means be dedicated to ensure it is complete. On July 11, 2015, he inaugurated a number of main projects within the expansion, including the expansion of the main building, courtyards project, pedestrian tunnels and main services hub.

King Salman also launched the Pilgrim Experience Program, one of the main programs of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, that aims to introduce a qualitative shift in services to pilgrims so that they can perform the holy rituals smoothly and with ease. The program focuses on easing their arrival to the two holy mosques, offering them quality services and enriching their religious and cultural experience.

On June 1, 2018, King Salman issued a royal decree to form the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, which is now chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The Commission aims to elevate the services provided to the pilgrims to achieve prosperity and sustainable development goals that align with Makkah’s holy standing.

COVID-19 pandemic

History will attest to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed’s bold decision to the government to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

They decided to suspend the Umrah and close the Mataf and Rawda areas at the Grand Mosque. The mosque itself was closed to visitors and only open to worshippers during hours of prayer to prevent the spread of the disease.



Facing Calls to Disarm, Hezbollah Ready to Discuss Weapons if Israel Withdraws, Senior Official Says 

Mourners attend the funeral of Hezbollah fighters, killed before the November 27 ceasefire with Israel, in southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel on April 6, 2025. (AFP)
Mourners attend the funeral of Hezbollah fighters, killed before the November 27 ceasefire with Israel, in southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel on April 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Facing Calls to Disarm, Hezbollah Ready to Discuss Weapons if Israel Withdraws, Senior Official Says 

Mourners attend the funeral of Hezbollah fighters, killed before the November 27 ceasefire with Israel, in southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel on April 6, 2025. (AFP)
Mourners attend the funeral of Hezbollah fighters, killed before the November 27 ceasefire with Israel, in southern Lebanese village of al-Taybeh, near the border with Israel on April 6, 2025. (AFP)

As calls for Lebanon's Hezbollah to disarm gain momentum, a senior Hezbollah official told Reuters the group is ready to hold talks with the Lebanese president about its weapons if Israel withdraws from south Lebanon and stops its strikes, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The prospect of talks aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament - unimaginable when it was at the zenith of its power just two years ago - underlines dramatic shifts in the Middle East power balance since Israel pummeled the Iran-backed group in a devastating conflict triggered by the Gaza war.

President Joseph Aoun, who vowed when he took office in January to establish a state monopoly on the control of arms, intends to open talks with Hezbollah over its arsenal soon, three Lebanese political sources said according to Reuters.

Hezbollah emerged severely weakened from the 2024 conflict with Israel when its top leaders and thousands of its fighters were killed and much of its rocket arsenal destroyed. The blow was compounded when its ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled from power in Syria, cutting its supply lines from Iran.

The senior Hezbollah official said the group was ready to discuss its arms in the context of a national defense strategy, but this hinged on Israel pulling out its troops from five hilltops in south Lebanon.

"Hezbollah is ready to discuss the matter of its arms if Israel withdraws from the five points, and halts its aggression against Lebanese," the senior official told Reuters.

Hezbollah's position on potential discussions about its arms has not been previously reported. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to political sensitivities.

Hezbollah's media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The presidency declined to comment.

Israel, which sent ground troops into south Lebanon during the war, has largely withdrawn but decided in February not to leave the five hilltop positions. It said it intended eventually to hand them over to Lebanese troops once it was sure the security situation allowed.

RENEWED FOCUS ON HEZBOLLAH'S ARMS

Despite a ceasefire since November, Israeli airstrikes have kept pressure on the party while Washington has demanded Hezbollah disarm and is preparing for nuclear talks with Hezbollah's Iranian backers.

Hezbollah has been the most powerful of the paramilitary groups Iran has backed across the region.

Reuters reported on Monday that several Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq are prepared to disarm for the first time to avert the threat of an escalating conflict with the Trump administration in the US.

Hezbollah has for years rejected calls from its critics in Lebanon to disarm, describing its weapons as vital to defending the country from Israel. Deep differences over its arsenal spilled into a short civil war in 2008.

The party's critics say it has unilaterally dragged Lebanon into conflicts and the presence of its large arsenal outside of government control has undermined the state.

A US-brokered ceasefire with Israel requires the Lebanese army to dismantle all unauthorized military facilities and confiscate all arms, starting in areas south of the Litani River, which flows into the Mediterranean some 20 km (12 miles) north of the Israeli border.

Two sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking said it is weighing handing to the army its most potent weapons north of the Litani, including drones and anti-tank missiles.

CALL FOR A DISARMAMENT TIMETABLE

Aoun has said Hezbollah's weaponry must be addressed through dialogue because any attempts to disarm the group by force would prompt conflict, the sources said.

Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai, the head of Lebanon's Maronite church, said last week it was time for all weapons to be in state hands, but this would need time and diplomacy because "Lebanon cannot bear a new war".

Communication channels with relevant stakeholders are being opened to "begin studying the transfer of weapons" to state control, after the army and security services had extended state authority across Lebanon, a Lebanese official said, saying this was a move to implement Aoun's policy.

The issue was also being discussed with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an important Hezbollah ally, who plays a key role in narrowing differences, she said.

US envoy Morgan Ortagus, who visited Beirut at the weekend, repeated Washington's position that Hezbollah and other armed groups should be disarmed as soon as possible and the Lebanese army was expected to do the job.

"It's clear that Hezbollah has to be disarmed and it's clear that Israel is not going to accept terrorists shooting at them, into their country, and that's a position we understand," Ortagus said in an April 6 interview with Lebanon's LBCI television.

Several Lebanese government ministers want a disarmament timetable, said Kamal Shehadi, a minister affiliated with the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party. Shehadi told Reuters disarmament should take no more than six months, citing post-civil war militia disarmament as a precedent.

A timetable -- which presumably would impose deadlines on the process -- is, he said, the "only way to protect our fellow citizens from the recurring attacks that are costing lives, costing the economy and causing destruction".

He said he and other ministers hoped the full cabinet would endorse the idea and task the minister of defense with preparing the timetable. "We're going to keep asking for it," he said.

The most recent conflict began when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem in a March 29 speech said his group no longer has an armed presence south of the Litani, and had stuck to the ceasefire deal while Israel breached it "every day". Israel has accused Hezbollah of maintaining military infrastructure in the south.

Hezbollah has put the onus on the Lebanese state to get Israel to withdraw and stop its attacks. Qassem said there was still time for diplomatic solutions. But he warned that the "resistance is present and ready" and indicated it could resort "to other options" if Israel doesn't adhere to the deal.