JEDDAH, 5 February — Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed yesterday said Saudi Arabia will spare no effort in ensuring that pilgrims coming to the Kingdom from all over the world for Haj perform the religious duty in comfort and peace and promised more infrastructure projects in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah.

Speaking during an inspection tour of Jeddah Islamic Port, where he greeted 1,300 Egyptian and Sudanese pilgrims who had arrived by ship, Prince Abdul Majeed underlined the need for Muslim governments to educate their pilgrims before their arrival in the Kingdom. He praised the Ministry of Haj for its efforts in this regard.

The prince, who chairs the Central Haj Committee, called for radical measures to eradicate the phenomenon of "squatting". Every year, thousands of pilgrims camp out on the streets leading to the Grand Mosque in Makkah and on open ground nearby, turning the area into living quarters where they eat and sleep and buy and sell goods.

"It is a great honor for the government and all those working during Haj to serve the pilgrims by providing round-the-clock service for them. This is a noble objective to which we are all committed," he said.

He was received by the Director General of Customs Saleh Al-Barrak, Makkah Governorate Undersecretary Abdullah Al-Faiz, Deputy Minister of Haj Hatim Qadi and Director General of Jeddah Islamic Port Muhammad Al-Ghaithi.

The prince toured the port facilities, including the passenger lounges where he greeted incoming pilgrims and wished them a blessed Haj and happy stay in the Kingdom while presenting them with gifts.

Over the coming days the port will receive 20,000 pilgrims from Egypt and Sudan, the two countries with outlets along the Red Sea that send the largest number of pilgrims traveling by ship.

The bulk of the estimated one million pilgrims from abroad are expected to arrive by air, with Saudi Arabian Airlines alone scheduled to ferry about 800,000 of them.

At the container terminal, which is nearing completion at a cost of SR500 million, Prince Abdul Majeed was briefed by port officials on the progress of work at the terminal designed to handle 600,000 containers annually. The first phase was completed last year, with the terminal receiving the first container ship to dock at the port.

Prince Abdul Majeed also inspected the new re-export terminal, which is being built on an area of 900,000 square meters. Port officials said 90 percent of the terminal has now been completed.

According to Al-Ghaithi, the port authority concluded contracts worth SR2 billion with the private sector for the maintenance and operation of these facilities.