JEDDAH – The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) announced that Al-Shuaiba desalination stations pumped Friday about 736,000 cubic meters of desalinated water to Makkah and the holy places, an increase of 8 percent of the pre-defined amount needed for the pilgrimage season this year, which also represents an increase of about 3 percent of the last season, a joint statement issued by SWCC and National Water Company said Saturday. SWCC pumped during the period from the beginning of the month of Dhualhijjah until Friday approximately 5.5 million cubic meters to Makkah and the holy sites, with an increase of 29.3 percent of the same period of last year. The NWCC said the process of managing and running water in Makkah and the holy sites was implemented by the electronic systems, and the amount of water distributed reached 350,000 cubic meters for the pilgrims in Arafat. The water was up across the networks, toilets and various outlets around the clock, under the supervision and follow-up of a large number of engineers and observers in the operation centers which covers Arafat area. — SG
