JEDDAH: The 4,951 pilgrims who are part of this year’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Guests Program for Hajj and Umrah have completed their Hajj rituals.
The pilgrims, who come from 92 different countries, are now scheduled to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and other religious and cultural landmarks in Madinah as part of an itinerary organized by the committees that oversee their transportation, accommodation, and other services.
The participants thanked the staff of the program for their exceptional service and attentive care during their stay in the Kingdom, and expressed their heartfelt gratitude and deep appreciation to the Saudi government for its unfailing support and hospitality.
The beneficiaries of this year’s program include 1,000 Yemeni pilgrims, 280 pilgrims from Syria, and 130 from the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Guests Program for Hajj and Umrah has been in operation for 28 years, with annual arrangements overseen by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance. Since its launch, the program has welcomed more than 62,000 pilgrims from 140 countries to the Kingdom.
Its services include greeting and assisting pilgrims on their arrival in the Saudi Arabia, arranging their accommodation and transportation between the holy sites, and coordinating visits to Madinah prior to their departure.
According to a report by the Saudi Press Agency, the first group of pilgrims participating in the program reached Madinah on Saturday.
The Transport General Authority has been busy preparing the roads utilized by the pilgrims’ buses to reach Madinah, including the repair of a 405-kilometer stretch of asphalt, painting roads spanning a total length of 514 km, and fixing expansion joints over a distance of 5 km. The maintenance teams also installed metal barriers across a distance of approximately 33 linear kilometers.
The TGA has also been improving road infrastructure elsewhere in the region, installing concrete barriers spanning 135 meters, repairing 36 intersections, erecting 38 kilometers of fencing, and lighting 96 km of road using both solar and conventional energy sources.
The authority’s on-site teams have conducted regular inspections of the Hijrah highway and the roads leading to the northern ports of the Kingdom within the administrative scope of the Madinah region. Road quality has also been evaluated across the region to ensure travelers’ needs are catered for.
