JEDDAH — Under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah Province, adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the Central Haj Committee, inaugurated on Wednesday a number of water projects in Makkah and the holy sites worth over SR3.1 billion, coinciding with the Haj season for this year 1440H, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy emir of Makkah Province, and Prince Mishal Bin Majed, governor of Jeddah, were also present at the launch.

On this occasion, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Bin Abdulmuhsen Al-Fadhli said: “The inauguration of the six mega water projects carried out by the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), National Water Company (NWC) and Saudi Water Partnerships Company (SWPC), is a confirmation of the continuing care and attention accorded by the Kingdom’s wise leadership for the water sector and its services in Makkah and the holy sites.”

He added: “The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has always been keen to ensure that its water projects and plans are based on the National Strategic Goals for Water and the comprehensive water plans in the Kingdom, in an endeavor to reach a sustainable water sector that will develop and preserve the water resources, protect the environment and provide high quality and efficient services that will contribute to socio-economic development.”

Al-Fadhli added that the total cost of the projects carried out exceeded SR3.1 billion. These projects will serve visitors to Makkah and the holy sites, whose numbers the Kingdom aims to increase. In this regard, it plans to receive some 15 million pilgrims and Umrah performers by the year 2020 and 30 million by the year 2030, in line with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

These projects include setting up a pipeline for carrying desalinated water from the Desalination Plant in Al-Shuaibah to Makkah and the holy sites at a total cost exceeding SR875 million, and the second phase of Al-Shuaibah Desalination Plant with a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters per day at a cost of over SR1.175 billion.

Among them are water services projects including water networks, connections to homes, strategic reservoirs and sanitary drainage networks and connections at a cost of over SR600 million in several districts of Makkah and the holy sites.

This is in addition to the Desalination Unit Project in Al-Shuaibah that functions according to the Multi Effect Evaporator System at a total cost of SR465 million.

Meanwhile, on Friday, it was reported that 74,205 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom within the Makkah Route Initiative during the period Dhul Qa’dah 1 – 15. Of these, 27,711 arrived in Jeddah and 46,494 in Madinah.

Also, the first group of Egyptian pilgrims has arrived in Madinah Friday via Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Madinah. The Egyptian delegation expressed its sincere thanks to the government of the Kingdom, led by King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad, for their outstanding services and great hospitality to the pilgrims and Umrah performers, SPA said.

The General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars has praised King Salman for hosting 200 pilgrims from the families of victims and the injured as a result of the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch City, New Zealand, recently.

The Secretariat stressed that this generous directive comes within the context of the Kingdom's keenness to strengthen Islamic solidarity, unity and relations with sisterly and friendly countries, and it will have a very good effect on alleviating the suffering of the victims' families, SPA said.

The Director of Public Security Gen. Khaled Bin Qaraar Al-Harbi met on Wednesday at the Command and Control Center with the Haj Security commanders at the Command and Control Center and discussed the readiness of the forces to carry out the tasks in Makkah and the holy sites so as to safeguard the security and safety of the pilgrims and enable them to perform their Haj rites with ease.

During the meeting, Gen. Al-Harbi reviewed the security, traffic, organization and support plans, which have taken into consideration the latest developments and updated plans, apart from discussing the technology for verifying the pilgrims in the holy sites have obtained Haj permits. The identification of the violators will be documented.

Gen. Al-Harbi stressed the importance of preventing illegal pilgrims from reaching the holy sites by continuously operating security patrols in the field and watching for violators inside the holy sites.

The Chairman of the Saudi Ports Authority Dr. Nabil Bin Muhammad Al-Amoudi recently told SPA that the Authority’s Haj plan for this year aims to receive 22,000 pilgrims via Jeddah Islamic Port, with a considerable increase of 37 percent in the number of arriving pilgrims compared to last year, via 22 trips on board four ferries.

The Kingdom’s Project for Utilization of Hady and Adahi recently completed the establishment of a joint operations room equipped with highest standards in technical, health and administrative supervision to follow the progress of slaughtering sacrificial animals and monitor all aspects of the project via some 500 digital and electronic cameras.

The supervisor of the project Rahimi Ahmed Rahimi said that this technical project is in line with the existing development aiming at linking field supervisors in the operations room with a network that equips them with speed of communication and accuracy of information, Saudi Press Agency said.