In Algeria, a new Mosque is not just set to break records but set new ones. The mosque will now be the world’s third biggest by area and the largest in Africa. The two largest mosques are The Sacred Mosque of Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
The Mosque also takes the lead as having Africa’s tallest minaret, resigning the 670-feet tower of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco to second place.
Spanning seven years of construction and over $1 billion in expenses, The Great Mosque of Algiers is built on an area of 400,000 square meters and has a 265 meter (870 feet) minaret that houses view decks.
The complex includes a Koranic school, a library, a restaurant, and an Amphitheatre, along with a research Centre dedicated to the history of Algeria.
The compound’s domed sanctuary and outside courtyard facing the Bay of Algiers can house up to 120,000 worshippers and has an underground parking lot with a capacity of 7,000 cars.
The Algiers mosque constitutes a new achievement for the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), a huge multinational that is associated with building heavy industry and infrastructure in Africa and over the globe.
The company won the proposal for the project of the Great Mosque in 2011, believed at the time to be amongst the biggest of its projects abroad.