Bandar Seri Begawan - The Seria Town Mosque is anticipated to change its image towards 2014, and as the town's main mosque, it will also add further conveniences to the public, especially to the mosque's congregants.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs through the Mosque Affairs Department and the Building and Maintenance Section of the ministry has made plans for the benefit of the mosques, prayer rooms and worship halls in the country, in terms of the acquisition of buildings - taking into account the density of worshippers, especially during the mass Friday prayer and the Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Aidiladha prayers.
The Seria Town Mosque in the Belait District is one of the mosques chosen for the implementation of the renovation projects that had been approved since December 17. The project for the mosque will take 18 months and is expected to be completed by mid-June 2014.
In this regard, the Seria Town Mosque Renovation Project handover ceremony was held yesterday at the mosque. The handover was made by the Acting Chief of the Building and Maintenance Section, Ministry of Religious Affairs Awg Abu Bakar bin AM Salleh to the Acting Director of the Mosque Affairs Department, Awg Hj Amir Hisham bin Hj Masri.
The renovation project is being carried out at a cost of B$1,039,124 and will be handled by ASD Engineering Sdn Bhd.
During an interview with the Bulletin, the head of the building and site maintenance staff, Architect Matzaini bin Hj Bakar, explained that the mosque's upgrade is just one of the ministry's efforts through the Mosque Affairs Department and the Building and Maintenance Section to repair some parts of the mosque. In addition to upgrading the standards of the mosque, as the main mosque of the town, it is necessary to increase its capacity to be able to accommodate as many as 1,500 worshippers.
"The first stage of building is on the basic facilities which will be on the right side of the mosque that will accommodate 500 congregants on the ground floor while the top floor is for administration use of the mosque. The second phase is to enlarge the area of the mosque's main worship hall at this time, and the third phase is to improve on the whole mosque until completion of the project," he said.
In the architectural planning of the project to upgrade the mosque, there will be an increase in the number of facilities to be renovated.
The second major mosque in the district, Jamalul Alam Belait .Mosque will also be undergoing a renovation project in the near future.
When asked about the mosque's problem of often being subjected to flooding, it was explained that, through the renovation projects it will also be making certain channels and will enhance the walls of the mosque to overcome the problem.
In the meantime, through the current project, the mosque will be made into two floors. The ground floor area will be 375 square metres to add space for mass prayers and for other facilities, including an administration section and a library.
--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin