The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is Deputy PM and Minister of Defense, KSA, graced the annual ceremony to
review the Hajj security forces and the agencies involved in Hajj
affairs for 2017 on August 23. The ceremony was held in Makkah, and included an anti-terrorism drill, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported.
A separate SPA report noted that an operations centre to
orchestrate the events of the Hajj has been set up on August 23 by the Ministry of Culture and Information, KSA. The operations centre involves various ministry departments and government agencies related to Hajj services. The Director of the Operations Room Abdulkhaleq Al-Zahrani said that
the media committee and its operations room are directly linked 24x7 to the Minister of Culture and Information.
The SPA added that 370 pilgrims in the program of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have so far arrived in Makkah to perform Hajj rituals this year. The total number approved to be hosted will be 1,300 pilgrims.
The SPA separately reported that 1,405,924 pilgrims have so far arrived in KSA as of 24 August. It quoted the General Directorate of Passports' daily statistics which noted that 1,313,946 pilgrims arrived by air; 79,501 by land; and 12,477 by
sea. This is 33% (350,531) more pilgrims compared to the same
period last year. Of these pilgrims, nearly 800,000 have already entered Madinah. SPA said National Pilgrim-Guides Foundation daily statistics as of August 24 said 621,010 pilgrims have left Madinah, while 178,755 pilgrims remained
in it.
The Kuwait News Agency has cited a Saudi Ministry of Information and Culture report on the number of pilgrims growing from half a million a year 48 years ago to 3 million today. The growth is supported by infrastructure and other services, such as a train linking Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah and expansion of the Masjid Haram area in Makkah.