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Saudi capital to get world’s biggest park in $23bn project

Arab News
March 20, 2019

Riyadh, Mar 20: Saudi Arabia launched an ambitious $23 billion project on Tuesday to create vast open green areas in the capital, Riyadh, including the world’s biggest city park.

Construction will begin this year on four schemes — King Salman Park, Sports Boulevard, Green Riyadh and Riyadh Art — which will create sustainable communities, drive action against climate change and provide up to 70,000 new jobs.

The aim of the project is to “significantly improve the lives of its citizens, transform the city into an attractive destination and make it one of the world’s most livable cities,” the government said.

The four projects - King Salman Park, Sports Boulevard, Green Riyadh and Riyadh Art – will complement the Saudi Vision 2030’s “Quality of Life” Program and are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to create sustainable cities and communities, while driving urgent action against climate change.

Developed with a government investment of $23 billion, the four projects will offer opportunities worth $15bn for the private sector to invest in residential, commercial, recreational and wellness projects.

As well as creating tens of thousands of new jobs, the project will also help boost efforts to improve the city’s health and wellbeing with a commitment to wellness, health, sports, culture and the arts, underpinned by a commitment to environmental sustainability.

The project will transform the environment and make Riyadh a more sustainable city, Dr. Fatma Alaish, assistant professor of ecology and environmental pollution at Jeddah University’s biology/botany department, told Arab News.

“Planting cities reduces air pollution as plants undergo photosynthesis and absorb carbon dioxide gas,” she said.

“This will decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, a poisonous gas that negatively affects air quality, mixed with dangerous car emissions, and heavily contributes to global warming.  With more planted green areas, there will be less pollution.

“The more you plant, the better the weather, the cleaner the air and the more sustainable life will be in cities.”

Measuring 13.4 square kilometers, King Salman Park will be the world’s biggest park, with residential areas, hotels, and will also feature a Royal Arts Complex, theaters, museums, cinemas, sports venues, water features, restaurants and an 18-hole Royal Golf Course.

The park will also boast several landmark assets, including the Riyadh Fountains and a Vertical Garden. As an environmentally sustainable urban development, it will offer opportunities for the international community in arts, entertainment and culture.

One of the world’s largest urban greening projects, Green Riyadh will increase Riyadh’s green cover with 7.5 million trees.

The massive planting project will help increase the city’s green cover from 1.5 percent of Riyadh’s total area to 9.1 percent – that is approximately 541 square kilometers by 2030.

Salem Alghamdi, a professor at the College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, said the projects would make Riyadh “one of the greatest capital cities in the Middle East.”

“I believe now in Riyadh we are really having a new city,” he said, “with the Riyadh metro, the Qiddiya project and now this Green Riyadh project, these will add even more value.”

Green space availability will increase to 28 square meters per capita from the current 1.7 square meters per capita, compared to the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 9 square meters per capita.

Green Riyadh will help reduce average ambient temperature by 2C, and will use more than 1 million cubic meters of treated sewage daily for irrigation, for the sustainability of water resources in the city.

Sports Boulevard  - a health and wellness destination in the heart of the city- will feature a 135 kilometer-long professional cycling track covering the city and the surrounding valleys, the first of its kind in the region.

Adding 3.5 million square meters of new open space across the city, this grand project will also feature a sports pavilion, riding stables and athletics tracks.

Riyadh Art will be the world’s largest government investment in public art and will establish the city as “a gallery without walls” through a world-class interactive public arts program.

With 1,000 artworks curated through 10 separate programs and an annual arts festival, this project will feature large-scale art works with the aim of drawing art lovers and creators from around the world.

Construction work is due to start in the second half of 2019.

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Agencies
May 7,2020

Dubai, May 7: Indians in the UAE have voiced scepticism about a "massive" operation announced by New Delhi to bring home some of the hundreds of thousands of nationals stranded by coronavirus restrictions.

"It is just propaganda," said Ishan, an Indian expatriate in Dubai, one of seven emirates in the UAE and long a magnet for foreign workers.

He was reacting to his government's announcement this week that it would deploy passenger jets and naval ships to bring home citizens stuck in a host of countries.

India's consulate in Dubai said it received about 200,000 requests from nationals seeking repatriation -- mostly workers who have lost their jobs in the pandemic.

One vessel was heading to the UAE, India's government said, while two flights were scheduled to depart the UAE for India on Thursday.

But the plans drew scorn from Ishan, who was a manager at a luxury services company before he was made redundant last month.

"It's like throwing a dog a bone," the 35-year-old complained on Wednesday, dismissing the Indian government's efforts as a drop in the ocean.

"Let's say they repatriate 400 people on the first day, and about 5,000 people in 10 days, what difference has it made?"

India banned all incoming commercial flights in late March as it imposed one of the world's strictest lockdowns to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

The UAE is home to a 3.3-million-strong Indian community, who make up around 30 per cent of the Gulf state's population.

To the anger of some Indian expatriates, the evacuees will have to pay for their passage home and spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival.

"We are upset over the failure of our government," Ishan said. "What about the people with no money? How are you helping them?"

The Indian consulate could not be reached for comment.

Ibrahim Khalil, head of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Center in Dubai, said the consulate had asked him to select 100 Indian nationals for repatriation.

"We are planning to pay for the tickets of those who cannot afford it," he said, adding that the elderly, pregnant and those suffering from illnesses were a priority.

But one Indian woman, eight months pregnant in the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah, was not one of the lucky ones chosen to go back home in one of Thursday's planned departures.

"We called them but nobody would pick up," the 26-year-old, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

She arrived in the UAE a few months ago to visit her husband, who lives in a shared apartment with another family to save money.

"We have no insurance here and the medical expenses are too costly," said the woman, who was anxious to leave to give birth at home.

"I just hope that I am chosen to go back to India. I don't know why I haven't been considered."

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News Network
April 9,2020

Apr 9: The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, adopted a resolution to grant paid leave to select categories of employees at the federal government.

This move is part of a series of precautionary measures and procedures taken by the UAE government to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

The resolution stipulates that married employees of the federal government may take fully paid leave to take care of their children below the age of 16. The age condition shall not apply to people of determination, as well as in cases where a spouse is subject to self-isolation or quarantine that requires no contact with family members, upon a decision from the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

The resolution also applies to employees whose spouses work in vital health-related occupations, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical jobs that require exposure to infected people, as well as employees of quarantine centres, throughout the emergency period witnessed by the country.

Pursuant to the resolution, the relevant ministry or federal authority may ask employees holding essential technical occupations to work remotely instead of taking leave.

The resolution was issued in line with the UAE government's keenness to support employees and provide them with a safe and healthy working environment, as well as to protect the health and safety of government employees and their families, during the current crisis that requires greater efforts, additional working hours, and in some cases, exposure to infected people.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

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