The Maldives government has canceled bids for this year's Hajj due to high prices and incomplete submissions.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs did not have a fixed price when the bid was opened earlier to companies that wanted to take pilgrims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. However, when the bids were rejected and reopened, it was announced that the price could be in the range of MVR 75,000 and MVR 95,000.
The ministry said no changes have been made except for the price of the Hajj pilgrimage.
According to the ministry, the previous bids were inadequate for the Hajj service; they did not disclose the details of the prices offered by the interested bidders.
Earlier, private companies used to charge around MVR 70,000 as the cost of the pilgrimage. The Hajj Corporation, which has 100 percent government stakes, charges MVR 69,965 per person for the Hajj pilgrimage.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs' announcement asked companies interested in taking the pilgrims to submit bids before April 13.
The official quota for the Hajj pilgrimage for the Maldives is 1,000 per year. However, governments can request to increase this number.
The state has requested Saudi Arabia to increase the quota allocated to the Maldives this year to 2,500, according to the ministry.
This year's Hajj will fall in the month of June.
A total of 8,99,533 pilgrims participated in Hajj last year. The Maldives received 453 quotas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All the space was allotted to the Hajj Corporation at the time.
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