UAE | Housing & Property

Fujairah gears up for rapid growth

This northern emirate which has witnessed massive growth in the tourism and real estate sectors, has announced plans to build a new residential, commercial and business city.

  • By Fuad Ali, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:34 April 20, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Eng Mohammad Saif Al Afkham, deputy director of Fujairah Municipality.
  • Image Credit: Supplied Picture
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Fujairah: This northern emirate which has witnessed massive growth in the tourism and real estate sectors, has announced plans to build a new residential, commercial and business city.

"It will be called Al Hillal City and will include residential, business and shopping facilities," said Eng Mohammad Saif Al Afkham, deputy director of Fujairah Municipality. He said the project will be carried out by a new real estate development company in Fujairah, also called Al Hillal.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, he talked about various initiatives of the Fujairah Municipality.

Gulf News: The largest civic project in the emirate, the construction of a sewage network in the city, is nearly complete. Are there plans to extend the project to other parts of the emirate?

Saif Al Afkham: Plans are on the table for a similar project in Dibba. When the Fujairah city project is complete we will be assessing the project so that when we decide to repeat it elsewhere we can do a better job. We had some delays in Fujairah but that is to be expected because of the nature and size of the project.

As you said, there are positive and negative sides to any large project. There was some discontentment among residents about aspects of the project, can you tell us how you can avoid that in future?

As you know, at the start of the project, many people were inconvenienced by the digging and excavation process because it happened in front of homes and businesses. We tried to explain the process and timeline to the public.

Some residents still have reservations but overall, and because of our awareness campaign, people have been more accepting because they realise the environmental and health importance of the sewage network.

There is talk of improving the road networks in Fujairah after the completion of the new sewage system. Can you shed some light on that?
Recently there was a generous financial imbursement of Dh16 billion by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to improve the infrastructure of the northern and eastern emirates and that will be of great help.

We have a plan to develop the road network in the emirate and in Fujairah city in particular, but we are waiting for the completion of work on the new Dubai-Fujairah freeway before we put the final plans in place.

The new freeway, expected to be completed by mid to late 2009, will completely reshape the road entrance to the city and will therefore affect traffic flow to all other roads.

We will have to widen and redesign some roads and we will remove some of the large roundabouts.

The positives of the new Dubai-Fujairah freeway will no doubt be numerous, but is the infrastructure of the emirate ready to handle the increased traffic flow?
At present, we are working with a consultant company that is responsible for studying the current traffic flow in Fujairah.

The company is looking at future projects to determine what road improvements are needed, such as new bridges, tunnels or new traffic lights. We're working in a scientific way.

We think, however, any future traffic congestion will be limited to weekend traffic flow. There are plans to develop alternative road links between Dibba and Sharjah/Dubai so that people do not have to travel through Fujairah to arrive at either destinations.

The residential construction sector in the emirate is booming but this seems not to have halted sharp increases in rent. Are you happy with how the introduction of a rent cap is affecting this equation?
The rent cap legislation is only a year old but we have formed a special committee to deal with issues relating to rent hikes and to enforce the legislation.

This committee is tasked with documenting the points of views of both tenants and landlords so that, in future, amendments can be made to serve the interests of both parties.

Fujairah is witnessing an economic and construction boom, can you tell us more about that?
Yes, we have quite a number of projects up and running with many more on the way. The latest development on that front has been the founding of a new real estate redevelopment company, called Al Hillal.

This company has been handed a large piece of land opposite Fujairah port, to redevelop the area by selling land to developers and completing its own projects as part of a new self-contained city.

The development will be called Al Hillal City, and will have its own roads, electricity and communication connections, as well as a waste management network.

Blocks of land will be sold off and leased to prospective developers and private firms by Al Hillal, which is working with Fujairah Municipality.

Al Hillal City will have residential and commercial units, hotels, as well as a large shopping centre.

There are also a number of major commercial construction projects, such as the Dana residential project as well as the building of a number of hotels.

With all this economic growth, questions regarding the negative impact on the environment are often raised. What is the municipality's role in this issue?
Every new development has positive and negative aspects. We are working with the environmental authorities, on both the federal and local level, to make sure any new project meets the strict environmental guidelines set by these authorities.

On marine pollution, we work closely with environmental clean-up companies who make recommendations on methods of keeping a watch on polluters and ways of dealing with oil spills.

We are working hard to ensure any economic development is not achieved to the detriment of our environment, under the instructions of His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Fujairah.

Summer time is fast approaching and soon many young residents of Fujairah will have much time on their hands with little to do. Why is there a lack of places in Fujairah for young people to go?
I think there are numerous activities and places available, and the establishment of the Fujairah Culture and Media Authority was a move to boost culture and creativity, especially among young people.

We have shooting and horse riding clubs under consideration, in addition to a number of sports clubs in place. But parents and young people are also responsible for using their spare time well.

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