Riyadh, May 14: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced full preparedness for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage, with authorities expecting nearly 1.5 million pilgrims from across the world to perform the annual Islamic rituals.
During a joint government press conference in Riyadh, officials from five Saudi ministries outlined extensive arrangements made to ensure smooth, safe and technologically advanced Hajj operations this year.
Saudi Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosari said the Kingdom has adopted modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, to manage crowd movement and monitor pilgrim density at the holy sites.
He said full 5G network coverage has been ensured across all major Hajj locations to improve communication and digital services for pilgrims.
Minister of Transport and Logistics Services Saleh Al-Jasser said over 1.5 million pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia are expected to arrive this year. He added that more than three million seats have been arranged through six airports connected to over 300 international airports via 104 airlines.
Officials said the Kingdom has also mobilised more than 52,000 healthcare workers to provide medical care during the pilgrimage season.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has prepared over 20,000 mosques and distributed more than two million copies of the Holy Qur’an for pilgrims as part of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ gift programme.
Authorities also highlighted the continued success of the “Makkah Route” initiative, now in its eighth year, which enables pilgrims from 16 countries to complete visa and immigration procedures at their departure airports before arriving in Saudi Arabia.
According to officials, more than 1.2 million pilgrims have benefited from the initiative since its launch.
The Ministry of Commerce, meanwhile, conducted over 33,000 inspection campaigns ahead of Hajj, while authorities approved temporary accommodation licenses and arranged more than 2.3 million beds in Makkah and Madinah to facilitate pilgrims.
Saudi officials reiterated that all preparations have been completed to ensure a safe, organised and spiritually fulfilling Hajj experience for pilgrims arriving from around the globe.
