REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, Indonesian government initiated the construction of hotel for pilgrims near Grand Mosque of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Two national private investors will be involved in the construction of hotels near Misfalah, not far from the Grand Mosque.
Director General of Hajj and Umrah, Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) Anggito Abhimanyu said, the two investors have contacted the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for joint cooperation.
"They expressed interest, and I support it one hundred percent, because it can relieve pilgrims expenses," Anggito said after a meeting with IDB officials at IDB headquarters in Jeddah, Thursday (24/10), quoted by the Media Center Haji (MCH).
Anggito explained, the hotel will be located in Misfalah, not far from the Grand Mosque. The investors, he added, has signed co-operation in land leasing for 30 years.
Although the project was handed over to the private sector, Anggito had expressed the willingness of MORA to be involved in the project. "If the law allows MORA to invest, we will join them. At least, we will be involved the procurement process, so the leasing price [for pilgrims] would be cheaper," he expected.
Speaking about number of units and investors, Anggito said he did not know the detail. However, a source said, the two national investors are investors who work with Exim bank. "The investment value of about 600 million U.S. dollars," the source said.
During this time, hotel lodgings were every year's problem for Indonesian pilgrims. There are pilgrims who gets five-star hotel, the other get lower level accommodation. Distribution of lodgings in the Holy Land carried out by qur'ah system or raffled at MORA office.
Government of Saudi Arabia does not allow Indonesia to build lodgings or hotels in the Holy Land. Boarding costs in Saudi Arabia became one of the biggest burdens for Indonesian pilgrims.
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