Dubai:New Al Qusais park to open soon

20 January 2009


New Al Qusais park to open soon

Dubai Municipality will open a new park at Al Qusais-3 very soon as it has completed the work of the Dhs26.78 million Pond Park in this area.

The park, situated along the Baghdad Road close to the Emirates Road, is part of the Municipality's plans to increase green areas and provide more recreational facilities to the residents of the city.

Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality said the "pond parks" are being set up in order to turn vast areas around storm-water collection ponds into recreational areas where the area's residents can relax and unwind.

He said another pond park is being readied at Al Qouz at a total area of 7.62 hectors and with a cost of Dhs15.8 million and at least two more such parks are planned in various parts of the emirate including Al Barsha and Al Nahda.

The Al Qusais Pond Park, with a total area of 17 hectors, has three segments with the first one called the "pond area," which consists of a 2-kilometer long and 3-meter wide jogging track around the pond, ticket-counter to enter games and facilities area, and shaded sitting areas. Facilities to suit the special needs children have also been incorporated in the park.

The pond is fenced so as to ensure safety of the visitors, especially children. Colourful water fountains are set up inside the pond, and there is colourful lighting in and around the park area to give an aesthetic ambience.

The second segment is the main park area that consists of separate play areas for children in the age groups of 2-5 years and 6-12 years. There are walkways and shaded sitting areas in this segment.

Another important feature in this segment is a 3-meter high slope area which offers a nice view of the pond and which can be used for holding special ceremonies including student picnics.

There is a 1.4 km long jogging track in this section as well that can be used by students and others to organize race contests. Various types of trees, plants, seasonal flowers, grass and groundcovers are used to green this section.

The third segment is a fenced play-ground for adults, which consists of a grass playground and a sandy playground for football, two tennis courts, a basketball ground and a beach volleyball ground. This segment also has a building that contains a restaurant, toilets and a dress changing area.

The park has two main gates, one of which has an office building with separate toilets for men and women, in addition to another one for people with special needs. The car park consists of 100 parking lots, which are shaded with trees.

It is worth mentioning that Dubai Municipality's Strategic Plan for 2007-2011 seeks to increase the per capita green area to 23.4 square meter and the cultivated land in urban areas of Dubai to 3.15% by 2011.