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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Lootah says Dubai Municipality committed to make Dubai greener



6 new parks opened in 4 days of Plantation Week

Lootah says Dubai Municipality committed to make Dubai greener

Eng. Hussein Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality said that the city of Dubai is a modern city that races against time in development and growth with an accelerated pace, which is reverberated around the world, thanks to the good governance and wise visions for the future to make Dubai the city of business and tourism.

"Dubai Municipality has been enjoying the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and the continuous follow-up of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality," he said.

"The Municipality by virtue of its mandated responsibilities offers many services related to the environment and the community and establishes integrated infrastructure facilities at par with the finest cities in the world through its vision to build a modern city which offers the ingredients for success. The concerted efforts of various government departments and public and private establishments have contributed in the making of a closely coordinated innovative and cooperative system," Lootah stated this in a statement issued on the occasion of the 30th Plantation Week, which is being observed from 7-11 March.

The Municipality opened two more parks on Wednesday as part of its activities on the occasion of the Plantation Week. The Al Nahda Pond Park was inaugurated by Lt. Col. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Chief of Dubai Police while Eng. Essa Al Maidour, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for Engineering and Planning Sector opened the Al Qusais-2 Residential Park.

Dubai Municipality's activities to mark the occasion was launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council by opening the newly built Pond Park at Al Barsha on Sunday. On Monday Eng. Mohammed AbdulKarim Julfar, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for Corporate Support Services inaugurated Al Quoz Pond Park. The Al Sufooh Residential Park and Al Qusais-3 Pond Park were opened by Eng. Abdullah Raffia, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for General Support Services Sector on Tuesday.

The Plantation Week, which will last until 11th March, will see opening of eight public parks by Dubai Municipality. New Garhoud Park will be inaugurated today (Thursday) by Obaid Salem Al Shamsi, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality for International Affairs and Partnerships.

Lootah said that the Municipality is keen on planning and monitoring of construction, including adding an element of architectural luxury and aesthetic appearance to this developed city.

"The greening of the city and plantation is one of the elements of the Emirate of Dubai and the beautiful appearance does not remain so without the attention with horticultural maintenance programmes and integrated care for the city's green spaces to ensure its continued greenery and glory and long life. That is what Dubai Municipality has taken up, to give the maximum attention and monitoring to ensure the success of financial budgets, and balance with population and urban growth," he said.

"Dubai Municipality strives to maintain and promote the spreading of green areas in Dubai and the provision of resorts, public parks and recreational facilities with the best design specifications and operate them according to the best international practices to the needs and expectations of the society and in all areas of the Emirate of Dubai," Lootah said.

He recalled that in the production of saplings the Municipality has been able to develop the productivity of its nursery in recent years by adopting the best scientific methods in the field of plant augmentation through its nurseries at Garhoud, Nad Al Shiba, Mushrif, Al Safa, Al Mamzar, Sih Al Silm and Warsan with production of more than 33.8 million sapings in 2009.

Lootah added that in the establishment of public parks and recreational facilities the Municipality has taken huge strides as there are now 42 parks that include big parks, neighborhood parks and the parks in the middle of the city, 49 popular squares in addition to recreational beaches.

"Dubai Municipality is keen to hold many events and recreational and entertainment activities throughout the year and in 2009 the six major parks in Dubai (Mushrif, Safa, Mamzar, Creek, Jumeirah Beach, Zabeel) managed to attract about 5.7 million visitors while the number of zoo visitors stood at 327,000. The parks and recreation sector witnessed considerable development over the past three years in terms of developing existing parks and upgrading their facilities and adding new facilities," he said.

Lootah stressed that as far as greening projects and tree planting and beautifying the streets, the city is taking huge steps consistent with the aspirations of the Municipality in this area.

He said 25 to 35 such projects are implemented annually and landscaping designs that are used are compatible with the nature of these streets, as the streets in the markets differ in designs for residential streets the external roads that link the city to other cities.

"Landscaping of the street is done with designs that meet the specific conditions that suit the design and nature of the buildings on the street and the plants used are carefully selected to achieve the goals of planting with the need to provide safety and security of road users and not to prevent the vision and also are easy for maintenance and low cost," said Lootah.

He said: "We depend on plants produced in our nurseries since 1986, and tourists in Dubai can distinguish the street with cultivated plants, as each street has a special design and special plants. For example, some streets geometric shapes are used."

"The Horticulture Section implements all the projects by providing automatic irrigation system suitable for the nature of the plants used and the percentage of success is almost 100% and for the irrigation of all cultivated areas we are relying entirely on treated wastewater," said Lootah.

"The Municipality has provided the opportunity to enter free of charge to all categories of residential community parks and public squares. It is also committed to the establishment of events and activities in these parks. The role of Dubai Municipality in the plantation, greening and landscaping of the parks of schools, colleges, mosques and government departments and diplomatic missions in Dubai cannot be ignored," he said.


Photos: Essa Al Maidour during the opening of Al Qusais-2 Residential Park on Wednesday

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