66 companies chosen to transport Haj pilgrims

A total of 66 companies have been selected by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs for transporting 14,000 pilgrims from Oman who will perform Haj this year.

Of these, 61 companies will transport Omani pilgrims and the rest Arab (3) and non-Arab pilgrims (2), the Omani Haj Mission said on Wednesday.

During a press conference held at the ministry, Shaikh Sultan bin Saeed al Hinai, head of the mission, said there will be 13,438 Omani pilgrims, of which 736 will be part of the official mission and the military mission.

Besides, there will be 300 Arab pilgrims and 262 non-Arab pilgrims.

“Out of the 23,490 applications received, formalities for 94.7 per cent of pilgrims have been completed. Process is on for the remaining 5.3 per cent.”

Pilgrims, as agreed by the Ministry of Haj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia, have been issued approvals for completing procedures.

This year’s Haj mission will comprise seven delegations that will facilitate the smooth conduct of rituals at the holy land.

It consists of a delegation for fatwa and religious guidance, medical and media delegations, and a delegation for financial and administrative controls.

“The delegations will leave for Mecca on August 19. An integrated team will be sent to Madina to serve pilgrims from Oman. We have taken all basic equipment for pilgrims and all arrangements are in place.”

The Haj quota for Oman was allocated governorate-wise as prescribed by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NSCI). Muscat Governorate has the highest share of 2,566 pilgrims.

The number of male pilgrims 6,835 and female pilgrims 6,357. arrangements and is