MADINAH — Dr. Bandar Al-Hajjar, Minister of Haj, said his ministry has handed over 230 sites in Mina to domestic Haj companies and establishments. He said this will enable owners of these establishments to receive applications from citizens and expatriates who are planning to perform Haj this year. The ministry's delay in handing over the sites had angered domestic Haj operators. They said this would hamper their preparations for the Haj camps. Arranging pilgrims' accommodation is one of the ministry's major challenges every year, but it has worked hard to come up with new solutions. Tourist companies are responsible for most of the ministry's problems, which include renting old and unfit buildings that are not licensed. Most of these buildings are located far away from the Grand Mosque. These travel or tourist companies do not fulfill their obligations toward the pilgrims who pay to stay in good buildings close to the mosque. The Ministry of Haj is then forced to look for alternative buildings using the money from the companies' bank guarantees, the minister said. Al-Hajjar said the allocation of pilgrims' housing is subject to studies and research by the Institute of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Haj Research and Prince Naif Chair for Studies of Pilgrim Housing. The studies are funded by the Coordination Commission of the Tawafa Establishments. Al-Hajjar said Tawafa establishments are assigned to supervise pilgrims' housing depending on the institute's recommendation. The minister said some Haj missions rent substandard buildings and only reveal the location of these buildings when it is too late. These situations leave the affected Tawafa establishments no choice but to accept these buildings, weakening the quality of services. The operators of the Tawafa establishments claim they are more qualified than anyone else to supervise the pilgrims' housing facilities because of their experience. They believe this will enable them to improve all services rendered to pilgrims. They said the involvement of many parties to provide one service is counterproductive. Zuhair Haddad, head of the Committee for Inspecting Pilgrims' Accommodation, said regulations governing pilgrims' housing that were introduced four years ago have effectively helped in eradicating many malpractices in the field. Under this law no ramshackle house or aging building will be rented to any pilgrim. Moreover, the law has significantly contributed to the enforcement of safety conditions in 7,000 buildings used for pilgrims' housing, he said. He claimed all licensed buildings are almost new, resembling five-star hotels.
