RIYADH — The King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Zamzam Water Project produced 100 million Zamzam water bottles until the end of August to meet the increasing demand during the Haj season, National Water Company (NWC), official operator of the project, announced on Wednesday.
Bottles containing the holy water for this Haj season would be shipped early to airports in the pilgrims' respective countries, and the official Haj delegations would deliver them to pilgrims once they reach home, said Eng. Said Misfer Al-Wadi, Director of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Zamzam Water Project.
The bottles would be shipped on flights that bring pilgrims to the Kingdom and then return home empty to transport the next batch of pilgrims, otherwise known as ‘unpopulated flights'.
This year, some 500,000 bottles of the holy water are expected to be shipped through ‘unpopulated flights' and the number distributed in all airports may exceed 1.5 million, including previously shipped bottles and accompanied shipments, said NWC in a press statement.
The King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Zamzam Water Project will perform the distribution operation in collaboration with the Haj Ministry, General Authority for Civil Aviation and other related authorities.
This process starts with a request from the official Haj delegation in each country, submitted via the Haj Ministry's electronic gate. Each delegation is assigned a certain quantity of bottles, one for each pilgrim.
Preparations for packing Zamzam water started early and production capacity has also been increased.
Al-Wadi said serving pilgrims is a religious and national duty. He noted that the project provides services around the clock. NWC made early preparations for this project and raised daily production capacity to cover demand, he said.
Operation, maintenance, refining and pumping capacities were also raised. Distribution has been increased as well to cope with the project output. NWC increased the number of customer services staff to guide and direct pilgrims and answer their queries.
Al-Wadi said, “We use state-of-the-art mechanisms to ensure the quality and purity of the holy water from the moment of extraction until it reaches the plant and is packed in plastic containers for distribution.”
