RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has inaugurated the second phase of a project to develop historical mosques, Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. The Mohammed bin Salman Project for Developing Historical Mosques aims to renovate and restore 130 historical mosques in various regions of the Kingdom, and the second phase of it will see 30 mosques across 13 regions developed. Of these 30 mosques, six are in the Riyadh region, five in the Makkah region, four in the Madinah region, three in the Asir region, two in the Eastern Province, two in Al-Jouf, two in Jazan, one in the Northern Borders region, one in Tabuk, one in Al-Baha, one in Najran, one in Hail, and one in Al-Qassim. The mosques were chosen based on their historical importance, whether that be because they date back to the time of Prophet Muhammad or are significant to the history of the Kingdom. The crown prince directed the implementation of the second phase of the project to be carried out by Saudi companies specializing in heritage buildings and Saudi engineers to ensure the preservation of the architectural identity of each mosque. The project was announced in 2018 and during the first phase of the project, 30 mosques were carefully restored in just over a year at a cost of more than SR50 million ($13.3 million). The project plays an important role in restoring mosques to allow Saudi Arabia to share its rich culture, history and society with the world, which is a main focus of Vision 2030. The successful first phase of the restoration project created a blueprint that will inform all future construction of mosques to follow authentic architectural designs.