DUBAI // An intensive building inspection process is under way to help maintain the aesthetic beauty and positive image of the city in preparation for Expo 2020, municipality chiefs have said.
Jabir Al Ali, head of the building inspection section at Dubai Municipality, said notices had been issued to owners to carry out necessary maintenance work on their properties, including painting and cleaning.
“Inspections have focused on the buildings situated on both sides of Red and Green lines of the Metro,” said Mr Al Ali, adding many owners had acted swiftly to carry out the civic body’s instructions.
“The municipality is very concerned about abandoned buildings and those stalled midway through construction. Such sites are not only a blemish on the aesthetics of the city but also a safety and security hazard,” said Mr Al Ali.
The department routinely inspects buildings, including abandoned properties, and issues notices to the owners.
“Dubai Municipality is offering demolition services to those who are not willing to go forward with construction works, with considerably nominal fees,” he said.
Khalid Salih, the department’s director, said the campaign aimed to make sure all properties were in keeping with the emirate’s global status.
malkhan@thenational.ae
More on Quran memorisation:
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950