DUBAI // The municipality is spending Dh17 million on five new parks as part of Dubai’s aim to become one of the greenest, most family-friendly cities in the world.
Hussain Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, said work had already begun on the projects.
“It comes as a complement to the policy of expanding green areas and to distribute them and provide entertainment services in a balanced manner to all areas of the emirate,” Mr Lootah said.
“The contracts have been awarded to contractors and the projects are currently in the preparation stage.”
Taleb Julfar, director of the public parks and horticulture department, said the projects would lift the number of parks and public areas in the emirate to 103.
They include six major reserves, two open beaches, four pond parks, 33 neighbourhood parks and 58 public squares.
“We are serious about moving forward according to the expectations of the world, in line with the directives of our wise leadership,” Mr Lootah said.
Mr Julfar said the emirate’s parks were among the busiest places in the country “in terms of the number of visitors and events organised by various community groups on special occasions such as holidays and celebrations.
“The department is proud of its excellence in providing unique services, ensuring the highest standards of comfort and cleanliness, as well as maintaining the environment.”
A neighbourhood park in the rural area of Lusaili, off the road to Al Ain, will be the first built.
It will cover 1.7 hectares and have family areas, paved walking tracks, a shaded plaza with wooden umbrellas and playgrounds.
It will also hold football pitches, a synthetic jogging track and sports equipment.
The park will also be equipped with solar-powered lights and an extensive irrigation network to feed a variety of plants and trees.
The second park, Satwa Reservoir Park, will be the first neighbourhood park that relies entirely on solar power.
The old park was built around the reservoir tower in Satwa and it will be rebuilt by the municipality.
Saeed Al Janahi, 24, and his family have lived near the Satwa reservoir tower for 15 years now.
“It is about time they renovate this park,” said Mr Al Janahi, an Emirati.
“This park has for the longest time just been a decorative area. No one was really using it.
“It was very dead, had no attraction, no entertainment … people preferred to just use the garden at home. At least this way all the neighbourhood children have somewhere nearby to play safely.
“Solar power will attract people, I think, and hopefully teach them about conservation. If anything it will be a nice place to spend your afternoon.”
The park will cover 1.5 hectares with all the features of the Lusaili reserve, and work will include maintenance on the tank tower.
The 1.3-hectare Mankhool Park will be for families, children and young people in an area that lacks a recreational centre.
Al Muhaisnah 3, near the airport, will have a 1-hectare park, and Al Warqaa 4’s first reserve will cover 0.6 hectares.
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The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
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
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
