Sharjah: Work on the Al Roq’ah Al Hamra used car market is more than 50 per cent complete and the facility is set to open next year. It will be the second biggest car market in the Middle East, a top official said.
The Dh268 million project, which started at the end of 2012, involves moving used car showrooms in Abu Shagara to Al Roq’ah Al Hamra, located between Sharjah and Ajman. It is scheduled to open in the first half of 2014.
The new market near Tasjeel Auto Village is being moved as Abu Shagara residents complained of traffic congestion, said Shaikh Khalid Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, member of Sharjah Executive Council and Chairman of the Directorate of Public Works (DPW).
“The project’s location is adjacent to the main strategic road network as the market location aligns Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road as well as Sharjah-Al Dhaid Road,” said Shaikh Khalid.
The new project covers 420,000 square metres — four times the area of the used car market in Abu Shagara. Its first class facilities have already began to attract numerous major auto car traders, said Shaikh Khalid, adding the project will be the second biggest car market in the region. Some 297 units will initially be constructed followed by a further 361.
He said the project will see a lot of progress in the next two months, after the completion of rainwater and drainage networks. The DPW team is keen to complete the project on time without disturbing nearby residents, he added.
The infrastructure work will cost Dh168 million and the civil work will cost Dh1 million.
The market will have 6.5km roads and 15,000 car parks, in addition to other spaces where cars can be displayed.
Noise pollution
Gulf News talked to Abu Shagara resident Baha Khalil, who said that it takes around an hour to exit the area due to traffic.
“I have lived in Abu Shagara for ten years and there is continuous traffic in the area whether it’s weekdays or weekends, it is always very crowded with people either wanting to sell their cars or buy a car,” he said.
Khalil also pointed out that weekends are usually the busiest as people from neighbouring countries drive down to visit the used car market.
“There is a lot of noise pollution and keeping the window open during the cooler months isn’t even possible because of cars sounding their horns,” he added.
Traffic in and around the new market, however, will not be an issue as road projects that connect the market to main roads have been designed to accommodate the future traffic increase, said Shaikh Khalid.
“These roads provide three entrances to the market location — the first leads to the Sharjah-Al Dhaid Road, the second leads to Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, while the third entrance leads to Sharjah Shooting Club,” he added.
