Saudi flag unfurled on world’s tallest flagpole

Jeddah municipality hoisted on Tuesday night a giant Saudi flag onto the world’s tallest flagpole to mark the country’s 84th National Day.
The pole is 170 meters high, while the flag is 49.5 meters long, 33 meters wide, 1,635 square meters and weighs 570 kg.
Jeddah Mayor Hani Aburas said the second trial run of the flag-hoisting operation was done successfully on Sunday in preparation for the launch in the center of the newly built 26,000-square-meter Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Square.
He said this was the first project of its kind in the Kingdom in terms of design and construction. Plants cover an area of 9,000 square meters. The flagpole is surrounded by 13 special lights denoting the Kingdom’s 13 governorates.
The area around the pole includes a representation of the two swords and palm tree, the emblem of the Kingdom, covering the entire area of the square. It is the largest emblem in the country, said Ibrahim Badawood, director general of the initiative.
The flagpole is made from 500 tons of steel in a cylindrical shape with sufficient width to accommodate the service units of the project, and allow workers to climb to the top for maintenance, said Sharif Al-Bahhar, engineer of the project
The facilities incorporated into the project include a unit to gauge the wind direction and speed, atmospheric humidity, volume of rain and for the aircraft-warning light. Separate units would absorb the shock of the flutter and ensure the stability of the pole, which is fire resistance, the engineer said.
Construction on the project, undertaken by Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiative, started 12 months ago with contractors using advanced engineering technology.