AL AIN // When it comes to putting the wow factor into the sprawling building projects of the Emirates, it is good to think green. In what will be a splash of natural colour, parks and tree-lined areas are sprouting up around the skyscrapers and new mini-cities here.
Considered the second phase of the construction boom, this is the domain of the landscape architects, who take the open spaces left by developers and soften them with greenery and lush settings.
"We don't just design, we deal with everything outside the building itself," says Adam Bradley, the director of pre-construction at ValleyCrest Middle East.
Quietly positioning itself to take advantage of what is expected to become a multibillion-dirham industry in the Emirates, ValleyCrest has big plans. Apart from creating and managing spaces at property projects, the company is looking at a major nursery operation that could sell plants across the country.
ValleyCrest Middle East is a joint venture between ValleyCrest, a 61-year-old US landscape company with US$940 million (Dh3.45 billion) of annual revenue, and the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort.
The main focus of the company for now is to oversee the creation of the 900 hectare park's botanical gardens and deserts habitats.
But ValleyCrest has also taken over nursery management for Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company on Saadiyat Island. Its staff of 100 is expected to increase to 300 within months.
William Leathers, the executive director of ValleyCrest Middle East, says the company's expansion in the region was timed to take advantage of the scale of development in the Emirates.
"Obviously the size of work that is being built in Abu Dhabi and the region is pretty much unparalleled anywhere else in the world," Mr Leathers says. "We've worked in Las Vegas and Miami, places with a lot going on, but there is nothing as concentrated as what's going on in the Abu Dhabi area."
Other companies taking advantage of the growing demand for landscaping include the Zaal family, who are behind the Al Barari project in Dubailand and have built a nursery that is growing more than 1 million plants a year; and the UK architecture firm RMJM that is also designing landscape in Al Ain and elsewhere in the capital.
Al Barari is a high-end luxury villa project surrounded by lush landscaping and gardens. The developer says it has introduced 800 plant species to the Middle East including wild garlic; Bismarkia nobilis, a palm native to Madagascar; and ancient olive trees from Spain.
About Dh1.4bn is being spent on plants and plans also call for 26 botanical gardens and a 14.6km system of waterways in the 130ha development.
During the peak of the property boom, there was little time for such details because developers were busy with the large-scale projects they were launching. Now that the off-plan sector has collapsed and apartments and offices are coming on to the market by the thousands, these companies are having to compete for tenants.
This means these buildings not only have to be finished to the highest standard, they also need to offer a lifestyle options to prospective buyers, analysts say.
ValleyCrest Middle East expects the market for landscaping and related services is much larger than even its enormous projects in Al Ain, or on the $30bn Reem Island and $27.22bn Saadiyat island projects.
Together with the team from the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort, they are trying to come up with a new plant "palette" for the region.
In the UAE today, there are just 10 or so trees and 50 shrubs that are used in landscaping projects. ValleyCrest Middle East aims to introduce plants accustomed to arid environments, such as a cactus from the US south-west and ground cover that requires much less water than ordinary grass.
At the park in Al Ain, ValleyCrest will be recreating deserts from North Kenya, South Africa and the south-west US. Its teams have been travelling around the world to acquire plants.
"We are on a large procurement drive right now," Mr Leathers says. "From Thailand to Spain to North America, we are buying up plants."
Mr Leathers also has an eye on upgrading much of the landscaping around the capital, from installing more efficient irrigation systems to the maintenance of the spaces.
"We don't want to eliminate grass completely because people love it," he says. "But grass and turf uses more water than just about any other ground covering."
Mr Bradley says another problem is that while most plants will grow in sand, they can only survive with a continuous watering because the ground does not retain the moisture. The irrigation system could be upgraded on a large scale so that less water is wasted.
In Al Ain, a group of the company's skilled labourers from the US have already achieved a major coup for the country's burgeoning landscaping sector. They have successfully begun relocating hundreds of trees from the expansion site of the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort, despite fears that the local trees were too sensitive to be moved.
The trees are sitting in large wooden frames near the site and will be relocated around the project.
"It's hot work," says Sergio, a Mexican landscaper for ValleyCrest. "It takes seven or eight days for a tree but we did it when people around here said it couldn't be done."
bhope@thenational.ae
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
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Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
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Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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- Join parent networks
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
