Dr. Fuad Bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy, Minister of Haj, said his ministry and several concerned authorities were studying measures to reduce the rates for domestic pilgrims' camps and offices for the coming years. He said Prince Naif, Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, has issued directives to study the matter. This came during the the minister's speech that he delivered on Friday night at the annual ceremony held to honor the heads and members of Haj missions and guests of the ministry for this year's Haj season and to distribute prizes for the best media coverage of the Haj. Dr. Al-Farsy said the past two years have witnessed a big drop in the number of bogus Haj firms. He attributed this drop to the strict measures adopted by his ministry. Pakistan's Minister of Endowments Hamid Al-Kazmi, who is leading his country's Haj delegation, congratulated the participating delegations on the success of this year's Haj for which he praised the efforts of the Saudi authorities. Dr. Fahd Bin Hassan Al-Aqran, the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Madina which won the media award for Haj this year, stated that everyone was looking forward to greater achievements and success at all levels after Eid Al-Adha and the grand success of this year's Haj. Dr. Al-Aqran attributed the award for his newspaper to the cooperative spirit of its team which worked hard in providing credible, authentic, impartial and fair coverage. Zuhair Abdul-Hamid Sdaiyo, head of the establishments for the pilgrims from Southeast Asia, on behalf of the employees of the Tawafah organizations attributed the success of the Haj to Allah Almighty's blessings and then to the sincere efforts exerted by all government sectors participating in the Haj services, especially the Ministry of Haj. Sdaiyo also praised the wise and systematic studies prepared by the Saudi government and supervised personally by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz and implemented with the personal follow-up of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah Region and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee and Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Madina Region. Dr. Fuad Al-Farsy emphasized that the process of expansion in the Two Holy Mosques, as well as in other holy sites continued around the clock in order to meet the challenges with confidence and competence. He reviewed the varied phases, citing the progress of work at the Jamrat Bridge to date transforming it into a giant civilizational facility, regulating the flow of approximately 300,000 pilgrims per hour. Another significant feature of this continuing progress and development is the huge expansion undertaken at Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, which almost doubled its area during this year's Haj season. Dr. Al-Farsy also highlighted the expansions of the Prophet's Mosque and the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
