AJMAN // As this northern emirate plans its development, a chronic shortage of power remains the main obstacle to its ambitions.
Yesterday the Ajman Municipality and Planning Department announced key targets in the 2010-14 strategic plan, including overhauling the emirate's infrastructure and focusing on sustainable development.
A budget of Dh250 million (US$68m) has been allocated to roadwork. Road capacity is to be increased by 70 per cent, and sewerage networks will be completed for the entire emirate.
New food markets have been completed, and a modern slaughterhouse will be built near the meat market.
A key goal is to increase Emiratisation at a rate of five per cent a year. Five per cent of available land is to be allocated to nationals. Emiratis and residents, while enthusiastic about the new plan, said the electricity shortage would limit development.
"They all use generators," said Mohammed al Abduli, 37, an Emirati.
"The other problem is the water."
"Basically, right from the beginning, we're running on generators," he said.
"We want electricity to come, rent for properties to come down," said Ahmad Mohammed, 32, a police officer from Ajman.
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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
