The Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, represented by Holy Makkah Municipality, has announced the completion of its operational and service preparations for Hajj season 1447 AH, through an integrated municipal system that aims to enhance safety and public health and to raise the efficiency of field response at the various vital locations.
The Ministry explained that its preparations included the deployment of more than 22,000 field personnel and over 3,000 machines and pieces of equipment, in addition to emergency teams operating around the clock, shelter halls, and fixed and mobile laboratories, in support of the readiness of field work during the season.
The Ministry carried out extensive work in preparing roads and infrastructure, which included an internal road network exceeding 73 million square meters in area, supported by 123 bridges and 44 tunnels for pedestrians and vehicles, in addition to preparing lighting networks and raising the readiness of the municipal elements associated with the smooth flow of movement and the safety of the Guests of the Most Merciful.
The Ministry also enhanced the readiness of the Holy Sites in Mina, Arafah, and Muzdalifah through prepared infrastructure extending over an area of 4.6 million square meters and including 20 bridges and 18 tunnels, which supports the movement of crowds and raises the efficiency of services at high-density locations.
In the cleanliness, environmental sanitation, and food safety sector, the Ministry intensified its work through a cleanliness system comprising more than 88,000 cleanliness units, 113 ground storage facilities, and 1,235 compaction units, in addition to more than 13,000 cleanliness personnel, 403 environmental sanitation personnel, and 380 catering and food safety inspectors.
The Ministry supports food safety activities through 5 advanced laboratories, at a rate of testing one sample every minute and with a capacity of up to 1,300 samples per day, while inspectors carry out more than 2,800 inspection visits per day, to ensure the safety of the food and commercial services provided to the Guests of the Most Merciful.
The Ministry also supported its field services through 66 service centers, including 28 centers within the Holy Sites, which operate as field operations rooms that contribute to the speed of response and to raising the efficiency of handling reports and observations.
With regard to municipal reports, the system handles, through the “Balady” platform, more than 29,000 reports, with an average response speed not exceeding one minute and 13 seconds per report, which enhances the ability of field teams to monitor the needs of vital locations and handle them efficiently.
These preparations come within an integrated operational plan that the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing has marshaled through its system to serve the Guests of the Most Merciful, enhance municipal readiness, and raise the efficiency of field performance during the Hajj season.
