JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal presented awards to the winners of the first Makkah Award for Excellence in a ceremony at Park Hyatt Hotel in Jeddah on Tuesday night.
Addressing a full house, Prince Khaled emphasized the need to give credit to those who deserve it for serving the province.
“I congratulate those who exceeded the ordinary to the extraordinary and won,” said Prince Khaled. “The main objective of the award is to motivate citizens to raise the level of performance and quality. This award is to motivate the creative to innovate in serving their country and its citizens,” he said.
The Makkah Board of Culture headed by Prince Khaled organized the award that was established last year. It aims to increase competition and creativity by giving recognition in eight selected fields.
The categories are: Excellence for Haj and Umrah Services, Administrative Excellence, Economic Excellence, Cultural Excellence, Community Excellence, Architectural Excellence, Environmental Excellence, Scientific and Technical Excellence. The governor did not rule out the possibility of adding more categories in the future. Winners are decided by a panel of specialized judges.
The Award for Excellence for Haj and Umrah Services went jointly to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the Binladin Group for the Jamrat Project. The prize was received by Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar, and Yehya Binladin, deputy director of the Binladin Group.
Saudi Aramco Western Region clinched the Prize for Administrative Excellence for the company’s unique commitment to employees and job satisfaction. Nabeel Baeshin, director of Aramco in the Western Region, received the award on behalf of the company.
Abdul Maqsood Khoja received the Cultural Excellence Award for hosting Al-Ithnainiya, a cultural gathering held every Monday evening at his home. He was singled out for his contributions to cultural activities in the region and for publishing numerous books and literary works.
The Economic Excellence Award went to businessman Saleh Kamel for initiating significant projects in the province.
The Community Excellence Award went to Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel for the Bab Rizq Jameel project.
The Architectural Excellence Award went to the Khuzam Development Project initiated by the Jeddah municipality and Dar Al-Arkan Company. The project is turning an undeveloped area into a city landmark. Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakieh received the award on behalf of the municipality, and Abdullatif Shalal on behalf of Dar Al-Arkan.
The Environmental Excellence Award went to Arafat Greening Project initiated and funded by Abdul Rahman Faqeeh. The project was responsible for planting more than 200,000 trees in the holy site of Arafat.
The Scientific and Technical Excellence Award went to professor Samira Islam for her significant contributions to safe drug use and a study on the hereditary impact of, and reaction to, drugs among Saudis.
