Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has stated that the positive changes implemented by Hajj Corporation Limited will reduce the cost of travel for pilgrims. He made the remark at the ceremony held to officially handover the 1,000 Hajj pilgrimage quota to Hajj Corporation.
The agreement was signed by Minister Shaheem and Managing Director of Hajj Corporation Mohamed Shakeel. Minister Shaheem said that handing over the entire quota to Hajj Corporation will benefit pilgrims and was not a decision made to hinder the work of the private sector. He said the decision was made after deliberating on various issues such as some companies accepting money from individuals and neglecting to facilitate their pilgrimage in a timely manner as well as the high prices set by companies.
As such, Minister Shaheem said that the government will allocate slots to private companies after the Maldives receives a higher quota. He also said that Hajj Corporation is expected to reduce the price of facilitating trips for pilgrims.
Also speaking at the signing ceremony, Managing Director Shakeel said that Hajj Corporation is implementing policies to reduce the price pilgrims have to pay to travel for Hajj pilgrimage.
Currently, 6,000 pilgrims are registered in the Hajj Corporation queue to perform the pilgrimage, of which 4,706 have made their payments. The administration made the decision to allocate the entire official Hajj quota administered to the Maldives annually to Hajj Corporation to avoid prolonging their wait, improve the quality of service, and increase the general public's confidence in the quality of service provided by the company.