$405m plan set for UAE roads
A Dh1.5 billion ($405 million) plan has been drawn up by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to build new roads in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Road projects linking Dubai with Sharjah and the other Northern Emirates form part of the plan, Public Works and Housing Minister Rakad bin Salem Al Rakad said.
The plan entails an outlay of Dh400 million to expand the Ring Road connecting Dubai and Sharjah which will also include Ajman.
In its first phase, the project comprises the extension of the Ring Road for 34 km towards the Sharjah-Al Dhaid Road, then towards the Camel Race Course in Ajman to reach the Umm Al Quwain Roundabout on the Sharjah-Ras Al Khaimah Road, Al Rakad said.
The Dh700 million second phase will include the construction of a new highway which will be a continuation of the Ring Road linking Al Khawaneej and Al Saja. The highway will cross the Al Dhaid-Sharjah Road to continue towards Ras Al Khaimah, where it will extend as a ring road around the city. This road will be 87 km long. The plan also includes a Dh400 million highway linking Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah.
Decision due on housing
Abu Dhabi: Decisions on about 2,000 applications are expected to be taken by the year-end under a special scheme to provide houses to UAE nationals. Faisal Abdullah Al Qarn, director-general of the Shaikh Zayed Programme for Housing, said a record 16,000 applications have been received by the authorities under the programme. About 3,000 applications are scheduled to be processed each year under the programme.
The programme has an annual budget of Dh640 million ($174.39 million), with finances coming from the federal budget as well as contributions from businessmen. The loans are not given directly to the applicants but to contractors who will construct the houses. The beneficiaries also cannot rent out or sell their houses, the official said.
Kuwait sets funds for maintenance
Kuwait: The Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) of Kuwait has approved a KD20 million ($65.12 million) budget for maintenance works on power and water stations for this year.
Assistant under-secretary for operations and maintenance affairs Yousef Al Hajri said the ministry scheduled the maintenance for the winter season because the power load on these stations is lower compared to the summer season.
Al Hajri also stressed on the need to begin building new power and water stations to offset what he described an "abnormally high rate of consumption."
