AJMAN // Homeowners in Ajman are still waiting for their properties to be linked to the electricity grid, six years after the emirate was hit by power-supply problems.
The Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) stopped supplying electricity to new residential towers and commercial buildings in 2008 as it struggled to meet demand amid rapid development.
Fewa began to gradually link properties to the power grid in 2010 but with connection taking up to two years, many owners are still relying on expensive diesel generators.
Properties without generators, or whose owners who cannot afford to run them, are left dark and empty.
A spokesman from Al Asima Real Estate in Ajman said three of its buildings in the Rashidiya neighbourhood had been closed for the past four years because of the lack of electricity.
“At first we used the generator but the diesel was so expensive and we were making enormous losses, so we decided to simply close them until we got electricity,” he said.
“We are waiting to see if the Fewa authorities give us electricity in the coming three months as our application has been in the queue for years.”
Irfan Mohammed, a manager at Al Ishba building in Rashidiya, said generators were stopped three years ago and the building closed down completely to ease huge financial losses for the owner.
“My boss is an investor from Pakistan who had a dream of making a successful business here but this did not happen,” said Mr Mohammed.
“He is now back in Pakistan and only comes to renew his visa and check to see if we have been connected to electricity.”
Mr Mohammed said the company applied to Fewa five years ago and was still waiting, despite assurances the property would be connected.
“Generators have problems from noise pollution to unstable power supply that can cause faults with most household electrical equipment such as air conditioners, lights and TVs,” he said.
Several buildings that relied on generators were affected by diesel fumes and smoke, said Mr Mohammed.
One resident in Al Sawan neighbourhood said diesel smoke had turned his home’s cream-coloured walls black.
“If it’s doing this to a wall imagine what it is doing to us?” he asked.
Demand for properties in the emirate is high, prompting estate agents to reopen empty buildings and install generators, with higher rents helping to cover the costs.
“All of our buildings with generators are now full and the only space we have to accommodate the many clients coming to offices seeking apartments to rent is to now reopen some of our closed buildings,” said the Al Asima official.
Some new homes have been connected to the grid. A recently established power plant is providing electricity to several buildings in Al Sawan, and some much-needed relief for residents.
A watchman at the Mohammed bin Ghaleta building said all of the flats were occupied shortly after word got out that power had been switched on.
“Many tenants who are daily visiting seeking an apartment are being turned away,” he said. “We have put up a big notice at the entrance announcing the building is full.”
Fewa did not respond to requests for a comment.
ykakande@thenational.ae
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Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
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Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
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World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia
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.
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- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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
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- 600-seat auditorium
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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
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
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Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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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
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TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
