Dubai: The final draft of Dubai’s sweeping Public Safety Act is expected to be ready in December.
When enacted, the law will impose strict safety standards in places frequented by the public, such as malls, parks and areas for holding events and celebrations.
Dubai Municipality, which is drafting the Act, said on Tuesday the law is expected to be in place “in the near future”.
The initiative has been approved by the committee under the health and safety sector of the Executive Council of Dubai government.
It was recently discussed by officials in the presence of Salem Bin Mesmar, assistant director-general of the municipality’s environment and public health and safety sector, at a seminar.
The draft law consists of seven chapters that include areas of application such as “buildings of all kinds, gardens, parks, open and closed entertainment venues such as the Global Village, shopping malls, celebrations, festivals, swimming pools, music concerts and sports galleries”.
“This seminar is the second one after the start of our work on the project in June this year due to the importance of public safety and to keep up with developments of Dubai in various areas,” Mesmar said.
“The Public Safety Act committee will hold a meeting in December to put in place the final draft and the Legal Affairs Department will approve the final wording of the law.”
The seminar was attended by representatives of the Department of Tourism, Civil Defence, Dubai Police, Legal Affairs Department of Dubai Government and relevant departments of Dubai Municipality.
“The Act will spell out the roles and responsibilities of government and private entities. The upcoming law would be a common platform that provides a legal framework for the safety network of all potential risks in places frequented by the public — such as shopping malls, hotels, educational institutions and residential communities as well as open spaces and squares, where events, festivals and celebrations are organised with the participation of large numbers of people,” he said.
“The government also wants Dubai to be more attractive to investors and researchers in terms of comfort and safety, especially in the context of Expo 2020.”
