Hajj Sites All Geared Up!

Makkah prepares itself for its annual pilgrims. As with every year, the air of excitement blankets the holy city and sites.

The preparations for Hajj in the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah were inspected by Makkah governor, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. He is confident this year’s annual pilgrimage would be much better than those in previous years in terms of services. Of course the railway plays a new role this time. Apart from ease of pilgrim movements, it will also hugely reduce road congestion and save time. The new railway will have a capacity to transport 72,000 pilgrims an hour.

Another feature of this year's Hajj is the nonstop transport system which will be used this year to transport 780,000 pilgrims from from all over the world. The system will transport 44,000 pilgrims between the holy places within an hour.
“It will reduce the time for reaching Muzdalifah from Arafat from five hours to 20 minutes,” an official statement said. Further developments are planned so that it will transport three million pilgrims in the future.

This year for the first time an air ambulance service has been set up near the Jamrat. Prince Khaled inspected the fourth floor of the high-tech Jamrat Bridge, the last phase of which was completed, in Mina including the helipad to take pilgrims suffering from chronic diseases to specialized hospitals using the Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s air ambulances. New Red Crescent helipads in Mawiya, Wadi Qadid, Shumaisy and Al-Laith would benefit pilgrims this year.

The Prince has urged all goverments to mobilize all their resources to serve the pilgrims and make the pilgrimmage a success.

The other projects done for this year was also the rainwater drainage system. The expansion work at the King Abdulaziz Airport’s Haj Terminal was also completed before the Haj season. This is helping the pilgrims enjoy quick services at the airport.

The Civil Defense department has installed about 500 CCTV cameras in Makkah and the holy places to monitor the movement of pilgrims 24 hours a day.

All this changes this year will ensure a safe and secure environment for the pilgrims.

Insha'allah, all pilgrims will able to complete the rites in full safety and enjoyment.