Jumeirah Islands Residents call for dedicated manager

DUBAI: Jumeirah Islands (JI) residents have called upon Nakheel to tender for companies to professionally manage the development, alleging that the community is currently mismanaged, XPRESS has learnt.

"We need a focused dedicated manager solely for JI who will professionally run the community," said Puneet Kapur, an Indian businessman and resident of the development.

Kamal Kotecha, a British resident said, "Right now, we have no say in how our money is being spent. Every year the service fee is going up and when you look around, there is no quality of work being done to substantiate this hike."

In an e-mail statement, a Nakheel spokesman said: "We have re-tendered every service in JI and awarded them to qualified and competent providers with the best rates in the market. Increases in costs are related to reasons such as enhancements to the community, comprehensive maintenance for assets which were not covered in the previous year and changing market rates for services."

Detailing some pressing concerns of the residents, Kapur said: "JI was supposed to be a ‘gated' community with ‘restricted' entry for residents. That does not seem to be the case now. The club house was initially supposed to be part of the community area and for the exclusive use of the residents. Now it is open for membership to outsiders. The dining is also left open to outsiders with or without membership. This is an increasing security risk as people now enter the development claiming they want to go to the clubhouse."

He said Jumeirah Heights is another concern. "This development was never on the master plan. Traffic is bound to increase around Jumeirah Islands," he said.

The Nakheel spokesman said Jumeirah Heights is not within JI and its residents will not have access into Jumeirah Islands. "Once gates are constructed for JI, security will only allow its residents and club house customers to enter. Further, clubhouse members will be given security access stickers to put on their vehicles for identification."

Detailing another concern, Kotecha said: "The circulation of water around the manmade lakes is inconsistent and water stagnates, often creating unhygienic conditions, along with bad odour and mosquitos. This is still an ongoing issue in the development.

Kapur added: "Last year we had to pay a hefty amount for fixing landscaping issues. However, last year, the network pipes got clogged with algae, resulting in less irrigation water."

The Nakheel spokesperson said: "We have engaged a consultant to evaluate the current condition of the lakes. There are two dedicated community officers and a dedicated landscaping inspector for JI. We will soon replace all the pipes to improve irrigation in locations around the community."