Jeddah 9 Shaaban 1443 AH corresponding to March 12, 2022:

His Royal Highness Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of Makkah Al-Mukarramah Region, chaired a meeting at the Emirate’s headquarters in Jeddah, in the presence of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Eng. Abdullah Al-Sawaha, to discuss plans and mechanisms for transforming the Makkah region into a smart region.

During the meeting, which was attended by the heads of universities in the region, His Highness was briefed on the work carried out by the Ministry of Communications to contribute to the transformation of the region into a smart one, most notably the development of the digital infrastructure, as the number of fifth generation towers increased to reach about 4,000 towers, and the average internet speed reached 155 Mbps, i.e. more From twice the global average internet speed, the internet speed in the region increased by 63% during 2021.

In the aspect of developing digital capabilities, more than 11,000 beneficiaries of direct courses have been trained in cooperation with the Emirate of Makkah Al-Mukarramah region and universities in the region, and the number of volunteers in the digital giving initiative reached 86,000 male and female volunteers, while the region hosts one of the best academies specialized in drones for use. In development fields related to energy and air inspection, the first batch of 50 specialists graduated, while the percentage of women’s participation in communications and information technology professions in the region reached 28%.

According to the presentation, the Ministry implemented 400 meetings within the digital capacity development initiatives in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, aimed at motivating young people to participate in digital competitions, activating the dissemination of knowledge, exploring technologies and experimenting with transforming ideas into real prototypes, benefiting more than 6 million beneficiaries since the start of the Corona pandemic, and training 100 pioneers. Business in several fields.

During the meeting, the most prominent investments in the region were reviewed, as the volume of investments in the communications and information technology sector exceeded 4 billion riyals.