PILGRIMS fund Lembaga Tabung Haji has identified several plots of land in Saudi Arabia offered by the kingdom for the construction of its own complexes, chairman Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said.

Speaking to reporters in Kelantan yesterday, he said TH hoped the agreement for the project would be finalised before the end of the year and the complexes, to be built in Mecca and Medina, would be completed within the next few years.

“Saudi Arabia has offered the Malaysian government several plots of land for the purpose,” he said.

“Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom went there recently to see the land but we need to go again to look for plots of land that are suitable for the construction of the complexes.

“We hope the complexes will provide better services to Malaysian pilgrims, especially during the Hajj season,” he was quoted as saying by English daily the New Straits Times, adding that the services provided would also help reduce Malaysian pilgrims’ expenses.

Azeez, together with other members of the TH board of directors will travel to Mecca on August 12 to inspect the sites.

He added that the government spent around RM200 million annually to pay for Malaysian pilgrim accommodation and other necessities in the Holy Land.

In 2015, Tabung Haji was embroiled in controversy over controversial purchase of land belonging to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX). It was reported that Tabung Haji had purchased the 1.6 acre (0.64ha) land for RM188.5 million or at RM2,779/sqft. – July 29, 2017.