HH Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of the Higher Corporation for Specialized economic Zones (ZonesCorp) advised that the trend of the Abu Dhabi Government and general strategy of the UAE is to construct modern residential cities for workers and laborers working in Abu Dhabi.
HH Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said “The construction of these workers’ residential cities reflects the human values and response by our government with respect to international laws that call for providing decent living conditions for all types of workers and laborers working in the UAE.
This action stems from the instructions of the Crown Prince, HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed and the President, HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. ZonesCorp has been chosen to construct these residential cities in order to accommodate different types of limited-income workers and laborers working in the industrial and constructions sectors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Forty percent of these workers will be accommodated in the permanent residential cities and 20% of them are to be accommodated in the temporary residential cities”.
The capacity of these cities, currently under construction, will be around 400,000 workers by the end of 2010 and 122,000 of them will be made up of limited-income workers.
These cities will be comprise of single and double rooms to accommodate workers, technicians, supervisors and engineers working in the industrial and construction sectors in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
ZonesCorp’s CEO, Engineer Jaber Hareb Al Khaili, said “These cities will be constructed according to international standards and specifications and will be model residential cities with residential areas, recreational areas, restaurants, health clinics, public areas & parks, mosques, together with all necessary services and utilities such as: visa services, labor cards, drivers’ licences, health insurance services, entertainment and recreational services”.
According to Engineer Al Khaili, these cities will be divided into: permanent cities to accommodate workers of the industrial sector; temporary cities to accommodate workers of the construction sector and fast temporary complexes to be constructed at Al Faya Area to accommodate the increased number of workers of the construction sector in order to meet the increased demand of the labor market.
Engineer Al Khaili added “according to ZonesCorp’s five-year plan (2008-2012), these cities will accommodate around 800,000 workers by the end of 2012, of which 270,000 will be limited-income workers.
Engineer Al Khaili added that ZonesCorp is about to acquire new plots of land for constructing new residential cities for workers and laborers through private investments.
By so doing, Abu Dhabi will be one of the leading destinations worldwide in providing high standards of housing for limited-income workers and laborers.
As administered by the government, rental prices in these cities will be competitive.
These cities will be electronically linked with the Ministry of Interior, Civil Defense, Armed Forces and Ministry of Health to deal with any emergency situations which may arise.
According to the conditions set by ZonesCorp, these cities and complexes will be managed by either investors themselves or by ZonesCorp which will use specialized international consultants to run and manage these cities.
In this respect, Engineer Khadem Al Muhairi, ZonesCorp’s Chief Labor Services Officer said “The construction of these residential cities reflects a humanitarian aspect as they will meet all the required conditions of providing decent housing for all types of workers”.
Engineer Al Muhairi hailed and praised the positive role of the private sector in this huge project. He added “The collaboration between the public and private sectors in this respect came as an immediate response to the directions and instructions of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council”.
Engineer Al Muhairi also added that ZonesCorp has set clear criteria for the construction of these residential cities, which will accommodate lay workers, skilled workers, technicians, supervisors and engineers.
Generally speaking, Engineer Al Muhairi said “The criteria states that the space to accommodate lay workers shall be 6 meters, 15 meters for skilled workers and 20 meters for technicians and supervisors.
Construction of these cities comes as a result of the increased development taking place in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, especially in the real estate and industrial sectors.