Jakarta. Sovereign fund Danantara’s boss Rosan Roeslani has traveled to Mecca to get the ball rolling on Indonesia’s “Hajj Village” plan, including checking out its possible location. 

President Prabowo Subianto has floated a plan to build a “village” meant for Indonesian pilgrims near the Great Mosque of Mecca or Masjid al-Haram. 

As many as 221,000 Indonesians went for the major Islamic pilgrimage of hajj this year, many of whom were the elderly due to the decades-long queue. About 1.5 million Indonesians fly to Mecca for the umrah lesser pilgrimage, annually. With a crowd of this size, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation wants to make sure that its people can undertake their journey to the holy place at ease.

During his Saudi trip, Rosan had spoken with local authorities, including the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites, the agency in charge of managing the area. He had engaged in talks with the Saudi Investment Ministry and the Hajj Ministry. 

Rosan also visited as many as 10 possible plots of land and 3 major projects in Mecca. According to Danantara, they are the “potential candidates” for the village’s location. The fund, however, did not disclose the details on the exact location nor size of the land, although Rosan had previously said the village would be just 400 meters away from the Masjid al-Haram. But location is not the only thing that Indonesia will pay attention to in this Hajj Village project.

“We are not only focusing on the distance [between the village] and the Great Mosque of Mecca. We will take into account the comfort, safety, and sustainability of the facilities for the pilgrims,” Rosan was quoted as saying in a press statement on Thursday.

“We aim to make sure that we meet all elements, be it the technical to legal aspects, as well as the sustainable management,” Rosan said.

The yet-to-be-built Hajj Village will boast facilities such as places to accommodate the pilgrims, a pilgrimage service center, health clinics, as well as meeting rooms for religious teachings.

The plan comes amidst the Saudi government’s decision to allow foreigners to own property in the Kingdom, starting in January 2026.

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