JEDDAH, 28 November 2004 — The Haj Ministry is planning to establish a pilgrim city in the western industrial port city of Yanbu to receive pilgrims arriving by ship for both Haj and Umrah.
The ministry is currently preparing the plan and designs for the city, which will have a shopping center in addition to restaurants and rest room facilities. The three-floor complex will also have bedrooms that would be exclusive to pilgrims.
Muhammad Rembu, director of projects at the ministry, said the new complex that will replace the existing facility at the port is being built to accommodate more pilgrims. The Yanbu port received some 80,000 Umrah pilgrims this season.
The port is currently witnessing development projects worth more than SR50 million. It includes construction of a new passenger lounge, a 75-meter lighthouse and expansion of the lounge for pilgrims.
The passenger lounge for pilgrims would be ready before the upcoming Haj, which is scheduled to start on Jan. 19. Once expanded, the lounge will have the capacity to receive about 3,000 pilgrims at a time.
In another development, the Ain Al-Azizia charitable organization in Jeddah has said it was planning to establish a new pilgrim city and a 300-bed hospital near the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in the service of pilgrims.
Hasan Al-Safi, chairman of the charity, said his organization was coordinating with relevant government departments to identify locations to establish the two projects.
Al-Safi also disclosed plans of constructing four new buildings south of the existing pilgrim city for pilgrims arriving by sea at a cost of SR35 million.
Haj Minister Iyad Madani, who recently visited Yanbu to inspect the port’s preparations to receive pilgrims, said the ministry was working out plans to receive 10 million Haj and Umrah pilgrims annually.
He also disclosed plans to transform Taif Airport into another major gateway for pilgrims. Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport is the main gateway of pilgrims, which at present receives more than one million Haj pilgrims and nearly two million Umrah pilgrims.
Madani also stressed the importance of expanding Jeddah airport and improving its services to meet the requirements of growing pilgrim traffic. “We are also working to make Prince Muhammad Airport in Madinah an international airport to receive pilgrims from abroad,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the minister as saying.
This year more than two million pilgrims including nearly 1.3 million from abroad are expected for Haj.
