Uzbekistan contractor Enter Engineering is to work on a huge mosque at the Al-Bukhari memorial complex near Samarkand, one of the best known monuments in the Islamic world.

The complex is based on the tomb of Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, a scholar and traveller born in 810, and author of the Sahih al-Bukhari, regarded in the Sunni world as the most authentic collection of the sayings of the prophet Muhammad.

The present site, at the village of Hartang, about 25km from Samarkand, contains a mosque, a religious school and a library. Enter will add another mosque with four minarets and 25,000 prayer places – 7,000 in the main hall, 3,000 in the women’s hall, and 15,000 in the courtyard.

It will also have an administrative building, and underground gallery and premises for ritual ablutions.

Ulugbek Usmanov, general director of Enter Engineering, said in a statement sent to GCR: “Memorials play a central role in educating and informing people about history and culture. It is not only a great honour for Enter Engineering to be engaged in the reconstruction of the historical memorial complex, but also a great responsibility before the state and society.”

The present complex was built in 1998 to restore the tomb, which had become dilapidated.

The total area of reconstruction and construction is 4.7ha, and the new buildings will cover 2ha. More than 440 specialists are involved in the work, including 65 foreign builders. Construction is expected to be completed in 2022.

Enter Engineering was founded in 2012 and employs over 25,000 people. It mainly works on gas pipelines and civil engineering. It has completed 32 industrial and civil construction projects worth a total of $2.5bn