RIYADH: Minister of Transport Sulaiman Al-Hamdan has expressed gratitude to the staff of the ministry, the General Transport Authority (GTA), General Ports Authority (GPA), and General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) for their integrated work with other Hajj agencies to serve pilgrims during the just-concluded Hajj season.
He said efforts of all transport sectors came together in response to the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman through the application of set plans, and in coordination with other security and service sectors.
More than 1,776 employees of different transport sectors participated in serving pilgrims at the holy sites and roads leading to the sites, airports, and ports receiving pilgrims, according to a report released by the ministry.
The ministry mobilized all its material and human resources to implement plans including the transportation of more than 2.3 million pilgrims throughout the season.
Ministry work also included road maintenance at the holy sites; rock-cutting work between the Arafat and Muzdalifah facilities to protect pilgrims from possible rock slides; implementation of security check points on the outskirts of Makkah; and support of security control centers on all major roads, which resulted in the detection of 2,895 cars that had violated Hajj regulations, the report said.
The GTA controlled prices of public transportation, their efficiency and safety, and passenger transport services from car park areas to the Grand Mosque and the holy sites. It also participated in the operation of the Mashaer Railway which was used by more than 2 million pilgrims, the report said.
For its part, the GPA prepared ports to receive pilgrims through allocation of terminals for arrival and departure purposes; customs services; modernization of security and TV camera systems; and preparation of loading equipment to cope with the increased traffic of the Hajj season, the report said.
Meanwhile, Saudi ports witnessed intensive activity during the Hajj season where Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP) received 14,872 pilgrims on 18 ships, the report said. In general, the Saudi ports received 2 million heads of livestock, 1 million tons of general goods and 378,344 containers during the season.
In the same manner, the GACA played a key role in the success of the Hajj season by coordinating air operations to schedule flights with the operating companies, and providing services to pilgrims at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah, the report said.
At King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, the GACA organized and received 4,863 flights for 966,546,000 pilgrims through 95 air companies, while it received 675,701,000 pilgrims through 3,156 flights at Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah.
The capacity of the two airports increased by 40 percent compared to figures from last year, the report said.
Efforts of Saudi transport ministry during Hajj lauded
Efforts of Saudi transport ministry during Hajj lauded
Saudi scientific organization celebrates 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate Omar Yaghi
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology honors him with a reception at its headquarters in Riyadh
- Yaghi, the first Saudi recipient of a Nobel Prize, shared the Nobel Prize with 2 other scientists for their pioneering work in molecular chemistry
LONDON: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh honored Omar Yaghi, the Saudi scientist and recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, with a reception at its headquarters in Riyadh on Thursday.
Yaghi is the first Saudi scientist awarded a Nobel Prize. He received it in December, alongside two other scientists, for their pioneering work in the field of molecular chemistry, and for contributions to energy, the environment and advanced materials.
He is also supervisor of the Center of Excellence for Nanomaterials for Clean Energy Applications, a collaboration between KACST and the University of California, Berkeley.
Munir Eldesouki, the president of KACST, said that the Kingdom is keen to recognize its scientific talents, in keeping with Saudi Vision 2030 and its goals relating to the fostering of scientific research.
Yaghi said he appreciated the support he had received from Saudi leaders during his career, and praised them for creating an enabling environment in which scientists are able to pursue world-class research, development and innovation.
Investment in national talent has created a research ecosystem that positions Saudi Arabia among the leading scientific nations, he added.
Thursday’s event, attended by the organization’s staff and students, also honored the winning teams from the recent “GenAI for Materials Discovery Hackathon,” which KACST organized in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, and Academy 32, a nonprofit Saudi organization dedicated to research, development and innovation.
The celebration concluded with an interactive discussion session during which Yaghi talked with students and researchers, reflected on key milestones in his scientific journey, and shared insights into the factors that helped shape his career, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
