The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) has obtained permission to build an Islamic Vocational Centre in Auckland.
The purpose of the Centre is also to attract members of other communities to come and to get to know Islam better.
It is hoped it will to promote friendship and understanding between the communities through interaction.
The centre will be the biggest in New Zealand with living area, auditorium, outdoor sports ground, offices, a two storey school building with 13 classrooms, two specialised teaching rooms, 6 traveller accommodation units, a multipurpose sports hall with indoor swimming pools, conference rooms, and three different parking spaces to accommodate 150+ cars.
The estimated cost of the project is an excess of $15 million with funding coming from within New Zealand and from overseas.
The idea to build the Islamic Centre was conceptualised more than 5 years ago and the land was purchased 3 and half years ago.
The Islamic Centre will be built on 4.5 ha (10 acres) of land which is around 48000 square metres.
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