Dubai
Dubai Police on Tuesday announced plans for six new police station buildings that will cost around Dh291 million.
Maj Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief, said two of the buildings will be completely new stations in Al Khawaneej and Al Awir and the other four will be replacements for existing stations in Bur Dubai, Al Faqa’a, Hatta and Lahbab.
Work on the stations is expected to start in 2016, he said, and they should be all be ready within two years.
“We saw that the population growth in Al Khawaneej and Al Awir required a station to service these areas. As for the other four buildings, some were very old and some needed to be upgraded to cope with the growing population,” he said.
For example, he said, the Bur Dubai police station was built in the 1970s, and is no longer in line with the latest requirements and standards in police work.
“We also found that the Hatta and Lahbab stations were in need of upgrades, because they are located in a very active area that links the UAE with Oman. Lahbab has also seen an increase in residents, which would require a bigger station,” Maj Gen Al Mazeina explained.
The new buildings will be fitted with the latest smart technologies, and will follow green building standards. The buildings will follow the modern designs that Dubai is known for.
“The stations will also have solar power, some of which will be supplied by the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This will help in reducing their carbon foot print.”
The six new stations will provide all police services, such as a criminal case registration section, traffic cases registration section, criminal investigation section, men and women detentions, administrative offices and storage areas, parking space for employees and rescue vehicles and in some cases employee accommodations.
He said that the sizes of the new buildings had been determined based on the area’s needs and population.
“The biggest of the six is the Bur Dubai branch, which will cost around Dh110 million,” Maj Gen Al Mazeina said.
The Lahbab station will cost around Dh20 million, Al Awir Dh36 million, Al Khawaneej Dh27.5 million, Hatta Dh62 million and Al Faqa’a will cost Dh36 million.
Side bar/ box
Dubai The Dubai Police’s new Forensic Science and Criminology building is expected to be inaugurated by February, the Dubai Police chief said.
Maj Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina said the building, which follows the latest standards and specifications and will be fitted with the latest forensics technology, is 95 per cent complete.
“We are just waiting for some of the equipment that we ordered to arrive, and it is currently being furnished,” he said.
He said that Dubai Police aims to achieve the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) golden standard once the building is functional.
LEED is one of the most popular green building certification programme used worldwide.
The four-storey building will cover an area of 400,000 square feet, and was previously reported to cost approximately Dh367.28 million.
