The delay in handing over tents in Mina, the rise in transport and food cost and a hike in salaries of workers will increase expenditure of domestic pilgrims, the chairman of the National Haj & Umrah Committee said.
“The Haj Ministry has not yet handed over the tents to domestic Haj companies and agencies,” Osama Felali said, adding that there is no justification for the delay. Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar on Wednesday said the tents would be handed over early next week.
Felali said 230 companies had been licensed to provide services to an estimated 200,000 domestic pilgrims. Their charges vary depending on their services.
He estimated total investment in domestic Haj service companies at more than SR 1 billion, adding that 50 percent of their activities are centered in Makkah, Jeddah and Riyadh.
“The delay in receiving the tents from the authorities is one of the main reasons for increase in expenditures,” Felali pointed out. “The rise in prices of foodstuffs will increase the cost of domestic Haj companies by 40 to 50 percent,” he said.
He also said the cost of hiring buses had increased by 35 percent, while the salaries of Saudi and expatriate workers had risen by 60 percent compared to the scale of salaries four years ago. Felali said the handing over of tents just 15 or 20 days before the launch of Haj would put pressure on companies and increase their expenditures. He agreed that the handing over of tents on the first day of Dhul Qaadah would have cut charges by 30 percent. The ministry says it will not be able to hand over the site to Haj service agents because of maintenance works. It would be unacceptable for Haj service agencies to allocate part of the area and make the issue more complicated, he said.
Felali pointed out that licenses of most domestic Haj service companies had not been renewed, adding the five-year validity of licenses expired by the end of last Haj season. “The non-renewal of licenses has created a lot of problems for the companies, as they will not be able to sign agreements with other service firms.” The companies whose licenses have expired would not be able to market their places in the holy sites or pay charges of the ministry and transport companies.
“We have presented this issue to the ministry, and they promised to solve it quickly,” he added.
Domestic pilgrim charges could rise 30 percent
