RIYADH, 11 August — The Ministry of Haj has approached the Saudi private sector to set up an IT company through which it could outsource data on promoting "e-Umrah".
As a result, a new IT company will be set up by a group of Saudi investors, led by the Jeraisy Group to create a database for Umrah traffic. Other members of the consortium include Xenal and GAMA. The company, known as Sejal Technology, will be capitalized at SR200 million, with Abdulrahman Al Jeraisy as its chairman. When it becomes operational later this year, it is expected to give a tremendous boost to Umrah traffic, reported the London-based ‘Saudi Review’ in its latest issue.
It said Saudi travel agencies have been authorized by the ministry to bring in Muslim pilgrims from around the world on a one-month visa for performing Umrah. "Thereafter, they could travel outside the Makkah region for sightseeing or shopping. The Haj Ministry now wants to move a step further by promoting this concept through the Internet, so that pilgrims could do their bookings through designated travel agencies on the Internet for performing Umrah,"the magazine said.
According to Haj Minister Iyad A. Madani, two million people are expected to perform Umrah every year, except during the Haj season. To this end, 137 travel agencies in the Kingdom have been licensed to provide Umrah services. This will provide a shot in the arm to the travel and business establishments as well as the local industry catering for the needs in terms of food, accommodation, internal transport and consumer spending.
Saudi businessman have been calling for a new telecom company to challenge the monopoly of Saudi Telecom Company (STC). "An element of competition will always bring about a qualitative change for STC customers,"the Saudi Review quoted a source as saying. He said that the STC is aware of the fact that sooner or later it will no longer enjoy the monopoly on the telecom front.
One of the moves under consideration is to introduce BOT (Build Operate and Transfer) as a funding mechanism, whereby a foreign company would be able to handle an STC project on a BOT basis and hand it back to its owner, the STC, after the recovery of its capital investment and profit margin. Already the BOT scheme has been applied to the Jeddah Industrial Township, where a private sector firm has landed a contract for expanding the infrastructural facilities on a BOT basis. The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank is exploring the BOT modality among its member countries. The Saudi government has signed an agreement with the World Bank for providing technical input into the BOT concept and its implementation.
