• The Hajj rituals for the 4,951 pilgrims who participated in this year’s Custodian have been completed.
• Pilgrims from 92 nations are now planned to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and other religious and cultural structures in Madinah.
• This was a part of an itinerary organized by committees in charge of their transportation, lodging, and other amenities.

The Hajj rituals for the 4,951 pilgrims who participated in this year’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Guests Programme for Hajj and Umrah have been completed.

Pilgrims from 92 nations are now planned to visit the Prophet’s Mosque and other religious and cultural structures in Madinah as part of an itinerary organised by committees in charge of their transportation, lodging, and other amenities.

The participants expressed their profound gratitude and deep appreciation to the Saudi government for its consistent support and hospitality, as well as to the program’s personnel for their great service and attentive care during their stay in the Kingdom.

This year’s programme will benefit 1,000 Yemeni pilgrims, 280 Syrian pilgrims, and 130 Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organisation pilgrims.

The Guests Programme for Hajj and Umrah of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has been in operation for 28 years, with annual arrangements handled by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance.

Since its inception, the programme has welcomed over 62,000 pilgrims from 140 different nations to the Kingdom.

Its duties include greeting and aiding pilgrims upon their arrival in Saudi Arabia, arranging lodging and transportation between the holy sites, and coordinating visits to Madinah prior to departure.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the first group of pilgrims to take part in the programme arrived in Madinah on Saturday.

The Transport General Authority has been hard at work preparing the highways used by pilgrim buses to reach Madinah, including the repair of a 405-kilometer stretch of asphalt, the painting of roads spanning a total length of 514 kilometres, and the repair of expansion joints spanning a distance of 5 kilometres.

Metal barricades were also constructed over a 33-kilometer stretch of land by maintenance crews.

The TGA has also been working to improve road infrastructure throughout the region, creating 135-meter-long concrete barriers, restoring 36 crossings, erecting 38 kilometres of fence, and lighting 96 kilometres of road with both solar and conventional energy sources.

On-site teams from the authority have performed regular inspections of the Hijrah highway and roads leading to the Kingdom’s northern ports within the administrative area of the Madinah region.

Road quality has also been assessed across the region to ensure that travellers’ needs are met.