JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics announced on Tuesday its statistical calendar for this year’s Hajj season, which includes more than 136 major services to be carried as part of the general services offered to pilgrims.
The authority said on its official website that a total of 192,254 employees, from both genders, will be working to deliver those services to pilgrims. It said 189,113 men and 3,141 women are working around the clock throughout the days of Hajj.
It also said that the number of equipment and machinery used in these services had reached 59,741, including 7,995 cars, 1,583 motorbikes, 13,349 wireless devices, and 3,760 computers.
It also highlighted the security services offered to pilgrims during Hajj as the main public service offered by the General Directorate of Public Security. The services include executing security and traffic plans to maintain public order in Makkah, Madinah and other holy sites.
It said 52 police stations 280 traffic centers and 75 security border gates have been set up at the entrances of Makkah and the holy sites.
Civil defense forces have deployed 15,000 members to execute its preventive awareness program.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Passport Control has deployed more than 5,000 staff officers, individuals and technicians to prepare outlets for the reception of pilgrims.
The National Information Center has assigned more than 1,355 technician and administrative officials to secure and prepare equipment that will can and read electronic Hajj permits.
More than 192,000 employees to serve pilgrims during Hajj 2018
More than 192,000 employees to serve pilgrims during Hajj 2018
Japanese researchers hope to restore coral from Saudi-made structures
- Coral skeletons made for Saudi Pavilion at Japan expo last year
- Results of Japanese study to be revealed at Riyadh Expo 2030
TOKYO: Japanese universities are seeking to restore coral reefs and marine ecosystems after receiving artificial structures that Saudi Arabia made and showcased at last year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo.
The coral skeletons were donated to the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa and Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, Kyodo News reported at the weekend.
The structures are made from calcium carbonate, a material on which corals are believed to grow more easily compared to artificial alternatives such as concrete or metal.
The skeletal structures were created using 3-D printers, with one piece produced a day during the expo, and displayed across an entire wall in the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, which had an area focusing on sustainable marine environments.
Coral reefs serve as habitats for much marine life, but over 40 percent of the world’s 892 species face possible extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The University of the Ryukyus, which received about 150 of the artificial coral skeletons, will place them in waters off the eastern coast of Okinawa’s main island and then examine their impact on the ecosystem.
Kansai University has placed theirs in the sea around Kagoshima Prefecture’s Yoron Island to observe their growth after transplanting coral polyps onto the structures.
The results of the research are expected to be revealed at the Riyadh Expo in 2030.
“I had never imagined that Japan and Saudi Arabia would cooperate on coral research,” said Masato Ueda, a professor specializing in regenerative medicine at Kansai University.
Ueda said he wants to demonstrate to children that “humanity is attempting to restore the environment.”
