Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, announced Tuesday the winners of the Makkah Award for Excellence at his office in Jeddah. The award for excellent Haj and Umrah services went to Issa Rawas, undersecretary for Umrah affairs at the Ministry of Hajj. Rawas introduced regulations which contributed to reducing the number of overstayers. Out of five million Umrah pilgrims, only 15,000 overstayed their Umrah visas in 2011. The award for excellent administration went to the Civil Status Administration in Makkah Province for its streamlined services, which significantly reduced processing times of transactions. The Saudi Geological Survey received the economic excellence award for winning a patent from the GCC Patent Office for a project it implemented to use cement dust emitted from cement factories. Hassan Abbas Sharbatli Foundation won the award of cultural excellence for its efforts to enhance the role of culture in society while the award for social excellence went jointly to Majed Bin Abdul Aziz Development and Social Services Foundation and Al-Awn Center in Jeddah. The foundation won the award for reinforcing the concept of sustainable development in its programs while the center won it for recognizing the rights of the disabled and the importance of integrating them into society. The award for environment excellence went to the National Water Company for implementing projects related to technology stations and home sewage systems in Jeddah. The award for scientific and technical excellence went to Dr. Fatin Khorsheed for conducting research to fight cancer and make drugs with ingredients extracted from camel urine. __
