Ayodhya, Jul 16 (IANS): The Ram temple in Ayodhya will open to devotees for worship by the end of 2023.

Construction in the entire 70-acre campus will be completed by the end of 2025, said office-bearers of the trust overseeing the project.

Champat Rai, general secretary of the trust, said, "By the end of 2023, the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple will be opened for devotees to offer prayers to Ram Lalla."

The announcement came after a two-day meeting of the 15-member Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust with engineers and architects. The meeting was chaired by trust chief Nripendra Misra.

The foundation of the temple was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5 last year in a glitzy ceremony but work had to be stalled in January after water was found under the proposed temple site.

At present, engineers are working on the foundation of the temple and it is likely to be completed by September 15.

The second phase of the work is likely to start in November around Diwali.