Letters to the Editor 04/09

I am not sure if you are trying to advertise the area.

But please let people know that if you want to move to this place they should be ready to lose sleep at night due to the stink of the sewage.

When you are in office you feel drowsy and sick all day due to insufficient sleep at night.

This place looks like heaven during the day and people who come and visit during the day might think that it would be their ‘dream come true' if they can get a flat in this place.

It happened to me! I took a loan and finally realised my dream to own a flat but ever since I moved in I am regretting every day of my life here.

The lift stinks, the AC in the lobby is not working, the security guards are indifferent.

The nearby sewage plant makes life miserable for everyone.

Name withheld, Dubai

Not really impressed

The road network is yet to be set up in a proper way as most of the present two-lane roads within International City can't be expanded any further.

Also, I would not term it as cheap, but reasonable rents.

However, an appalling fact is that workmanship in most of the buildings is on the poor side with constant complaints.

Clarence Lewis, Dubai

Error zone

Dr Moopen's Medical Centre is not the seventh clinic in international City.

There are only five clinics here.

The clinic does not have six doctors and our independent investigation reveals that it has three doctors — full time — but not a gynaecologist.

This kind of cheap PR exercise does not bode well for a company like you, who should practise independent media reporting.

Fazal, Dubai

Editor's note: The information we published was based on what Dr Moopen's Medical Centre told XPRESS.

The story was aimed at telling our readers about international City and the facilities available there.

Rewrite the story I have lived in the China cluster for the past three months and I can assure your readers that it's not a rosy picture as painted in your story.

Eighty per cent of the areas designated to be green are either sand or gravel, 10 per cent of the greenery is just weeds though the other 10 per cent is quite nice.

There's a massive oversupply of shop units. I think the developer got greedy and increased the volume of retail space.

Overcrowding is rampant, maintenance is virtually non-existent, stairwells are dirty, lights in the emergency stairs in many buildings don't work.

I recommend your reporter spend more time there and rewrite the article.

Thomas J.J., Dubai

No drop in rents

Who says rents in Bur Dubai have dropped (Flat Goes The Market, page 8, May 28)?

On the contrary, they have increased dramatically this year after the Rera (Real Estate Regulatory Agency) index got published.

My rent in a 25- year-old building has increased by 40 per cent.

This is just a game being played by those who control the market.

Vijay Java, Dubai

Living on hope

This is with regard to your story about rents falling in Bur Dubai.

What about rents in Abu Dhabi? When will that day come for those of us who stay here?

A single bedroom in the outskirts of the city is still Dh100,000. It's simply unaffordable.

We are now planning to move to Dubai and utilise this opportunity.

Pravin Kumar, Abu Dhabi

A dream pod

I read about the seawater vertical farm project in your paper and I'm sure that it will be a reality one day (Space Age Farming, pages 6-7, May 21).

Such dream projects always come true in the UAE and the country needs to come up with more such projects.

I would like to work on this project.

I also have an idea to add to the project.

A winddriven generator should be installed on top of the pod to generate electricity, so that there will be no need for power from an external source.

Emmad Tarhini, Dubai

International City myth busted

I enjoyed your article on International city (City Rising, cover story, May 28).

I believe we have a tremendous opportunity here to make a great community and, of course, it gives great value for money.

I have lived in International City for three years and opened a restaurant here in the central business district two years ago.

There are many things that could be improved.

For instance, the developers can complete the landscape work, the buildings and, most important of all, re-start and complete the work on the Forbidden City area.

Unfortunately, International City has an unfounded reputation for being a secondrate area. Your article has gone some way to dispel this myth and I thank you for that.

Xue Juan Jin, International City

Quality vs quantity

Why would one build a city for 100,000 people and have only one road leading to it?

For that matter, the lone road arrived only recently because of the traffic chaos brought about by Dragon Market.

Unbelievably, the only entrance to the City is also the service road to a busy and important petrol station used by motorists heading towards Hatta.

Also, why would a developer construct hundreds of buildings with shops underneath but not enough parking for the residents?

Get a grip and remember quality not quantity.

David, Dubai

Cheap, but not good enough

The rent in International City is definitely low compared to other places.

I pay Dh32,000 for a studio flat in the Greece cluster (I moved here in April).

I had heard about the sewage problem and asked the real
estate company about it a hundred times.

They said it had been taken care of but I have noticed that there is a terrible stink around midnight once a week.

The foul smell enters the house if the AC is on. I was so happy when I moved in here but nowadays I am simply thinking of the day when my tenancy contract will get over
and I'll be able to move to Karama or even Sharjah or maybe even Ajman where I can sleep peacefully.

The sewage smell is not good for the health.

Now I might be saving a bit of money on rent but later on I don't want to spend that money on medicines.

Also, there are many bachelors living in this place, the lifts stink and the watchmen don't bother to check if the lobby AC is working or not.

Name withheld, Dubai

Wanted: More mosques

There aren't enough mosques in International City to hold the Friday prayer and not enough parks for children.

Ahmad Anees, Dubai

Sister city

I have a few friends who stay in International City. After reading your story, I asked them how they liked the place to which they said they are more than satisfied with the facilities there.

My point is, since International City is already a success
story, what's stopping builders in Dubai from coming up with a similar project?

It's a winwin scenario. Builders will make their profit while middle-income earners will get a decent place to stay.

Another advantage of having similar projects in Dubai is that they will help decongest the city.

I feel what the city needs right now is affordable accommodation and decongestion.

These two goals can be achieved if we have sister international Cities.

Rahul, Dubai