The World's Smartest Masjid al-Haram
Saudi Arabia’s Al Ekhbariya channel broadcast a field report confirming that the Grand Mosque area is rapidly advancing to become one of the smartest zones globally before 2030, thanks to a fully automated mobility system and diverse, integrated digital services.
* Fully Automated Mobility: The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques launched the "Unified Mobility Platform," which consolidates all transportation means (electric/golf carts, manual push carts, and free shuttle buses) into a single digital platform. Reservations are made entirely electronically, with 100% electronic payment, support for seven languages, and post-use service rating. Priority is given to the elderly and people with disabilities, with the option to request a cart directly from hotels in certain cases.
* Smart Digital Services: These include smart interactive maps featuring more than 950 points of interest distributed across 13 service categories, supported by over 650 QR codes. The system generates more than 100,000 dynamic routes that automatically improve based on crowd movement and density. This system supports real-time guidance, location-based reporting, and facilitates access to services.
* The Broader Goal within Vision 2030: These steps are part of a comprehensive digital transformation aimed at improving the experience of the guests of Allah, enhancing crowd management efficiency, and reducing congestion, thereby contributing to accommodating larger numbers of Umrah pilgrims and Hajj pilgrims (targeting 30 million Umrah pilgrims annually).
For his part, Dr. Mohammed Al-Saqqa, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for the Digital Transformation Sector at the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, clarified that the digital transformation has also extended to the iftar tables system at the Grand Mosque, which exceeds 38 million meals, with associated cash transactions reaching approximately half a billion riyals. He explained that automating procedures has reduced the work cycle from about eight days to nearly eight minutes, alongside enhancing governance and transparency levels through process automation, role separation, and linking the system to the "Ihsan" platform, as well as the involvement of a third party responsible for governance.
He noted that the "Rafid" platform connects 18 systems and government entities to accelerate and process reports in the Two Holy Mosques. Furthermore, the interactive map has helped resolve approximately 600,000 cases annually, representing about 10% of the total number of guided pilgrims at the Grand Mosque, which stands at around six million guides annually.
Dr. Al-Saqqa affirmed that efforts continue to anticipate the future and leverage smart technologies within the development plans for the service systems in the Two Holy Mosques, aiming to improve the experience of the guests of Allah and enhance operational efficiency, ultimately achieving the goal of making the Grand Mosque one of the smartest areas in the world before 2030.
