New face of Al Ain takes shape

The pristine beauty of Al Ain city is assuming a modern shape as government departments inject millions of dirhams into a variety of development programmes.

Many construction projects are either currently under way or in various stages of planning, and are closely monitored by the National Consultative Council (NCC).

Engineer Ahmed M. Al Shareef, Assistant Undersecretary of Al Ain Town Planning Department, said the overall development of Al Ain is moving in a well-conceived direction.

"We don't want to allow modern development to overtake the traditional image of Al Ain," he said, adding that modernisation has been planned to enhance the city's natural beauty.

The office of the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region and Al Ain Municipality and Town Planning Department are playing leading roles in the development that has been taking place under the guidance of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Al Ain Municipality is undertaking a comprehensive development plan to build scores of new facilities and services.

The municipality has been spending Dh50 million on the first phase of a project to use rainwater. Under this project, the banks of the natural waterways are being cemented, from Al Ain Hospital in the North to Wadi Al Ain and from New Al Khubaisi to Al Markhania residential area.

The second phase of the project will cost an estimated Dh68 million to build similar banks along the spring waterways in Al Muwaiji, Al Manaseer, Tawam Hospital area, Seh Bin Ammar and Private Schools area.

According to a municipality source, special attention is being given to the construction of housing units for nationals in different parts of the city. Currently a project to build 3,000 houses is under way in Al Oha.

The efforts are bearing fruit as the housing units are constantly increasing. The number of houses in Al Ain and the surrounding areas has grown from 50,000 in 1975 to 382,625 units in 2001.

The Public Garden Section of the municipality is engaged in the beautification and maintenance of gardens and parks in the city. A new family garden, covering 8.7 hectares, has recently been opened in Al Salamat district. It was constructed at a cost of Dh7 million.

The section is also carrying out a series of new projects at a cost of Dh95 million. These include setting up new parks, digging water wells, building water tanks, and other landscaping work for roads and roundabouts.

The projects also include the creation of 20 farms in Tawiya in addition to a number of building and irrigation systems in the area.

Ahmed Hilal Al Dhaheri, Director of the Public Gardens Section, said 10 new projects have been started, among them one to construct a new garden in Al Qou, beautification of an oasis in Al Yaher and gardens in Al Wagan, in addition to drilling 249 water wells in and around the city.

A project has also been launched for the development of Al Ain Zoological Park at a cost of Dh87 million to develop the educational and tourism value of the zoo.

According to the municipality's statistics, some 81,000 people visited the zoo and Hili Fun City during the last Eid holidays. Out of these, 50,000 enjoyed time at the zoo.

Engineer Salam Al Ameri, Assistant Undersecretary of Roads and Bridges Affairs, said the section has been spending millions of dirhams on the construction of new bridges and roads. New projects are being planned to build car parks and rainwater drains in all residential areas.

A plan to build 10 subways is under implementation. A subway near Al Jebel Roundabout is nearing completion. Another subway is being built on Abu Dhabi Road in Al Maqam, which is expected to open shortly.

Work on two pedestrian subways at Al Khubaisi and Hilton Roundabouts will start soon. Other subways will be near Al Muwaiji Roundabout, Tawam Hospital and Al Sarooj Roundabout.

The first phase of a project to develop a road network has been completed. The Roads and Bridges Affairs Section is also implementing more than 30 service projects.

The municipality has signed a contract with an international consultancy firm to design and supervise implementation of new sewerage and rain drainage projects.

The foundation stone for a huge multi-purpose 'Celebration Hall' has recently been laid. Eight such halls have been ordered by Sheikh Zayed.

The Dh25 million hall will be the first of its kind, with a capacity to accommodate 1,800 persons, said an official of Al Fara'a Group of Companies, the contractors of the project.

The huge hall will have three big tent-shaped concrete roof structures, covering an area of 110x60 metres. It will be used for wedding ceremonies, exhibitions, conferences, seminars, cultural programmes, festivals and parties.

The Forest Department of the Ruler's Representative Court in the Eastern Region recently completed landscaping 2,000 hectares in Ushoush, Rudha, and Al Leseed.

Dhahir Al Dhahiri, Undersecretary of the forest department, explained the landscaping work keeps in mind the directives of Sheikh Zayed who wants to convert the desert into lush green land.

He said that an additional 1,430 hectares will also be landscaped in new Rudha, Wakat, Hafeet Mountain, Kisourah, and Ushoush. This project aims at preserving the environment, and creating a habitat for wildlife.

New projects are also in the pipeline for the landscaping of 450 hectares extending along the Swihan-As Sada Road, at a cost of Dh10.8 million. This includes irrigation networks, and digging wells, at an estimated cost of Dh5 million.

To support all this development, Al Ain town planning department has been coordinating with all the departments concerned. Engineer Al Shareef said the department has developed a master plan covering all urban and rural development in the region up to 2015.

The execution of the plan, which is a comprehensive study of all the aspects of the urban planning and development, will start later this year. "We have given special attention to the impact of urban development on environment."

The town planning department will also set up a Remote Sensing Unit for aerial surveys and imagery for enhanced mapping of the geological features of the land for new development.

"The use of latest information technology and availability of sophisticated data will help the department enormously in supporting the future developments in Al Ain and in the region."

Al Ain municipality, also environmentally conscious, has been running a waste management programme to safeguard the environment, under the instructions of Abdullah Hassan Hamarain, Undersecretary of Al Ain Municipality and Town Planning Department.

The project, called Source Classified Waste Project, will be run for two years in Al Khubaisi district. It is the first of its kind environment-friendly waste management programme in the UAE, and will later cover the entire city.