January 8, 2026 | 02:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf stated that the Indonesian Hajj Village in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, will not be operational during the 2026 Hajj season. He believes the Indonesian Hajj Village hotel will take one to two years to implement.
"We hope that, by 2028 at the latest, some of the towers can be used," he said during a meeting at the Hajj Dormitory in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta, on Thursday, 8 January 2026.
According to him, there are no obstacles in terms of budget or bureaucracy. The Investment Management Agency, Danantara, he stated, has the funding to build the Indonesian Hajj Village in Makkah.
"The Saudi Arabian bureaucracy is also very open," said the Gerindra Party politician.
However, he believes that it indeed takes a considerable amount of time to build the Hajj Village hotel. "Construction cannot be completed in just one year," said Irfan.
He mentioned that the Ministry has delegated the policy of building the Indonesian Hajj Village to Danantara. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, he said, will only be the facility user.
In a previous statement, he assured that the Indonesian Hajj Village will not change the pilgrimage flight scheme for pilgrims. According to him, the arrival and departure of Indonesian pilgrims will still be through Madinah and Jeddah.
State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi stated that the Indonesian government won the bid for ownership of a hotel and plot of land in Saudi Arabia. These assets will later become the location of the Indonesian Hajj Village.
Prasetyo confirmed this victory after Danantara's CEO, Rosan Roeslani, reported it during the Red and White Cabinet's early-year retreat held at Padepokan Garuda Yaksa, Hambalang, on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
"We now have our own hotel in Makkah, all thanks to the extraordinary diplomacy of the President," said Prasetyo during a briefing at the media center in the Hambalang area on Tuesday, 6 January 2025.
Prasetyo mentioned that Indonesia's success in acquiring hotel and land assets in Saudi Arabia was the result of President Prabowo Subianto's diplomatic efforts, which paved the way for a change in Saudi Arabia's foreign asset ownership policies.
According to Prasetyo, Indonesia's ownership of assets in Saudi Arabia is a gift for the Indonesian nation, especially for the Muslim community. "For the first time, the Saudi Arabian government has changed the rules for a country to own assets in Saudi Arabia. This becomes a gift for the Indonesian nation and the Muslim community in particular," said Prasetyo.
Sultan Abdurrahman contributed to this article
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