Bouteflika To Launch Works Of Algiers Mosque Next November

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is likely to inaugurate the commencement of the building of great mosque of Algiers as by next 1 November, which coincides with celebrations of the Liberation Revolution (1954-1962).

Head of the national agency for the building of the Djamaa El Dzajair (Algiers mosque), Mohamed Alloui, said the German company has accomplished the technical stage of the project.

Mr Alloui told Echorouk reporter that the outcome of the technical study has been checked by experts of the agency.

He added that he study has comprised the structure of the minaret, the praying hall, the related features and the pillars, noting that this religious complex will mix between the Mghreb-Islamic and modern architectures.

The agency is in permanent contact with the 6 local and foreign companies which have been preselected to compete for clinching the building of the project, before the opening of the bids next 17 July.   

The project’s specifications stating that any candidate companies applying for the bid should have a permanent staff of more than 2,000 engineers, technicians and office staff. They should almost have an annual turnover of at least one billion.

The new law on public deals stipulates that companies attributed the building projects have to start construction works within a deadline of 90 days. Thus, the first stone of this Islamic project is likely to be put by President Bouteflika on next 1 November.

Situated at Mohammadia, opposite the bay of Algiers to the east of the capital, the mosque would stand on a site of about 20 hectares with a minaret standing about 270 metres high.

It will feature a main prayer hall large enough to hold 36,000 people. The complex will also include an inner court, an esplanade, a large auditorium, a library for 2,000 people, a school for Koranic studies, and an underground car park with space for 6,000 vehicles.

It will also feature a conference room, a Qur’an house, a centre for cultural sciences, media centres, a laboratory, a 300-room hotel, a shopping centre, restaurants, green spaces and a recreational park.