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.
Arab News
