HE the Minister of Haj and Umra in KSA, Dr Mohammed Saleh Bentin, has launched the Ministry of Haj and Umra's control centre as part of the ministry's e-transformation in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. The new system will contribute to the enhancement of Hajj and umrah performance, shorten the duration of current procedures, and achieve information
transparency, the ministry said, against a backdrop of an increase in
the numbers of pilgrims. The KSA has hosted a record umrah season, receiving nearly 6.5 million umrah pilgrims.
The system is expected to improve field coordination, accelerate decision-making, and ensure information is updated in real-time. A dashboard is made available 24x7 for all the government agency
stakeholders involved in the Hajj and umrah ecosystem and also connected to the Hajj and umrah pilgrims' service centres in Makkah and Madinah. The service centres field enquiries from pilgrims, provide directions and take feedback on services.
In conjunction with the launch Dr Bentin announced that the Hajj pilgrim e-bracelet programme would start this year. E-bracelets will help authorities recognise pilgrims quickly; provide access to data of Hajj pilgrims, especially non-Arabic speakers or the unidentified; and provide a unique identifier to help guide the lost and follow up with complaints.
Interested?
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the e-bracelet programme