| ....2000 08 20 : Sunday |
The United Arab Emirates has become one of the world's largest growers of date palms, with the number of this unique plant rising to 40.1 million, according to a recent statistical study by the Emirates News Agency, WAM. Thanks to the great care being given by President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE now produces more than 37 types of dates from 33.7 million palms in Abu Dhabi and 6.3 million in the Northern Emirates. The date palm, one of the oldest trees in the history, is a symbol of the countryís rich heritage. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
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MOHAMMED ORDERS BUILDING 50 MOSQUES IN KOSOVO
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Defence Minister, today ordered the building of 50 mosques in the different areas of Kosovo. Amin Al Khajah, Director General of Sheikh Mohammed Charity Foundation, said that he will discuss with the International peacekeeping forces in Kosovo the arrangements of building the mosques there in response to Sheikh Mohammedís gesture. Meanwhile, a charity week, organised by the Foundation, was opened here today by Saeed Al Ghaith, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs. During the week-long activities, free treatment will be offered to sick children whose parents cannot afford the costs. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
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UAE UNIVERSITY TO SET UP WORLD CLASS IT COLLEGE
The United Arab Emirates University has set out a plan to establish a world class information technology college in Al Ain. Costing an estimated Dh250 million, the UAEU College of Information Technology will be an ultra modern facility, according to a university official. The college will be located inside the planned University Town coming up in Al Maqam area to draw together the various university facilities currently scattered around the city. The idea of the college was conceived by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of the UAE University. According to initial outline, the building of the UAEU College of Information Technology will have four floors with a total area of 20,000sq.m. The IT College will be housed in a state-of-the-art building, designed to match the future requirements. The curriculum will would encompass a total of nine degree programmes, including software engineering, information systems, telecommunications, educational technology, e-commerce and information security. The university will implement the first phase of the project with the start of new academic year from next month. The IT College, upon completion will have an initial enrolment capacity of 1,300 students, 300 males and 1000 females. The capacity will be gradually increased to a total of 3,000, 1,200 male and 1,800 female students. (The Gulf News)
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SHARJAH AIRPORT PLANS OFFICIAL TRAVEL AGENCY
Sharjah Airport Authority is getting ready to open its own official travel agency in the city to help the travelling public and to promote tourism in the emirate. Sharjah Airport Travel Agency, SATA, which will be opened in downtown Sharjah will be a multi-purpose travel agency with a full-fledged tourism department to cater to in bound and out-bound tourists in the emirate. Other facilities include seat reservation, sale of airline tickets, freight forwarding, car rentals, city sightseeing tours and desert safaris. The agency will also provide visa facilities in a bid to attract tourists to the emirate. SATA, which will be situated at Al Mina Street in Sharjah will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to cater to all the needs of tourists, passengers and airlines operating through Sharjah International Airport. (The Gulf News)
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DDF, TEJARI IN E-PROCUREMENT DEAL
Dubai Duty Free, DDF announced that it has signed a comprehensive agreement with Tejari.com, the Middle Eastís premier on line, business-to-business marketplace, to procure thousands of products it sells to passengers at the new Sheikh Rashid Terminal of the Dubai International Airport. Currently ranked number 12 in the world among airport duty frees in terms of revenue, DDF anticipates significant improvements in the management of the ëbuy sideí of its supply chain by working with its suppliers through Tejari.com and integrating the electronic market into its back-end procurement and other systems. The timing of DDFís new agreement with Tejari is ideal for the airport retailer, as DDFís new 5,500 square metre facility is almost four times the size of the previous outlet. New items for the increased DDF product range can be sourced immediately on-line from Internet catalogues made available by suppliers through Tejari. It can also participate in the 24 x 7 global auctions currently running on Tejari. (The Khaleej Times)
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SEWA'S LAYYAH PROJECT SET TO TAKE OFF SOON
Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority, SEWA, is in the process of commissioning the second phase of its Layyah desalination expansion project at a cost of Dh165 million. This phase consists of installing tow multi-effect desalination units, each with a capacity of 5 million gallons per day. The project is being spread across three phases and aims to boost the pantís current capacity of 22 mgpd to 42 mgpd at a total cost of Dh700 million. The first phase, commissioned at end-1998, involved the erection of 5 mgpd desalination unit for Dh249 million. The Layyah expansion forms part of SEWAís ongoing development programme seeking to increase water supply volumes and power generation to stay ahead of demand projections. Other ambitious projects being undertaken include desalination and power generation plants at Sajaa and Wasit, and laying of new water trunk mains pipelines in the emirateís cities. Last year SEWA also installed at Abu Musa a third desalination unit of capacity 16,000 for Dh0.5 million, to boost the stationís capacity to 70,000 gpd. Other desalination plant installations were at Hamriya and at Kalba, while a 3mgpd water wells complex was inaugurated at Al Kedharah. SEWAís average water production in 1999 spurted 11.84 per cent to 55.35 mgpd, with 28.86 mgpd coming from ground water resources and 26.49 mgpd being desalinated. The year prior to this saw water supplies running at 49.49 mgpd ñ with 27.62 mgpd being ground water and 21.87 mgpd being desalinated ñ while corresponding figures for 1997 being respectively 46.7 mgpd, 20.05 mgpd and 21.65 mgpd. (The Gulf News)
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100M DRIVING INSTITUTE PLANNED IN ABU DHABI
Driving schools in Abu Dhabi are to face tough competition with the coming up of a giant driving institute that is expected to cut down tuition fees and provide better services. The Emirates Driving Company, a project partly owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, will have a seed capital of Dh100million. The shares of the company will be offered for subscription on September 16 and it is likely to be formed in a short time. Industry sources said that the companyís equity is expected to be oversubscribed as the feasibility study of the project targets the acquisition of 50 per cent of the market, with a capacity for 7,000 driving trainees a year. According to sources the Abu Dhabi Government will have the biggest stake, with Dh3 million share representing 30 per cent of the seed capital. The rest of the shares will be divided between national insurance companies with 2.4 million shares, representing 24 per cent; police officers and privates as well as locals in Abu Dhabi with 3 million shares, representing 30 per cent of the capital; and driving schools and institutes with 1.6 million shares representing 16 per cent. In addition to offering driving lessons, the company will introduce a set of programmes to develop skills of drivers of all types of vehicles and will organise training programmes in the fields of first aid, emergencies as well as car racing. (The Khaleej Times)
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Major parks in Dubai will undergo a facelift in the near future. Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Industry Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum has approved a project worth about Dh2 million for the development of these parks. "The municipality is in the process of introducing certain development measures in the big parks such as Al Mamzar Park, Creek Side Park, Al Mushrif Park, Al Safa Park and Jumeirah Beach Park," said Qassim Sultan, Director General of Dubai Municipality. "More recreational activities will be introduced at these parks. New courts for basketball and volleyball will be constructed. More areas for barbecue will be developed, tiles will be laid in certain areas and more toilets will be built," said Sultan. He said that a local company has been awarded the contract for the project which will take 180 days to complete. Sheikh Hamdan has approved another project worth Dh3.8 million for analysing the tender for the engineering consultancy of the quantity survey of Dubai Municipality, said Sultan. (The Gulf Today)
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UAE EQUESTRIAN AND RACING SPONSOR'S RACES
In accordance with the aims of President H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to develop and popularise pure-bred Arabian horse races around the world and in accordance with the directions of H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and direct supervision of Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court and Chairman of the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, the Federation will organise race of Al Nahyan International Championship for pure-bred Arabian horses on Sunday August 20th at Newmarket venue, United Kingdom. A total of seven races will be held in the race meeting which is part of the series of races organised by the Federation. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
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Department External Information Ministry of Information and Culture P.O. Box 17, Abu Dhabi E-Mail: mininfex@emirates.net.ae Tel: 009712-4452922 Fax: >009712-4450458
PLEASE NOTE: The items covered in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect the official view of the UAE Government. Rather, they form a UAE-related digest of reports from the local press and publication