Dubai Municipality has recently conducted a welcome and felicitation program to honour Eng. Rashad Mohammed Bukhash, Director of Architectural Heritage Department, for winning the Federal National Council election UAE.

Eng.Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, in his speech during the event, attended by several department Directors and other officials, said that Civic Body is proud of its high official, who entitled to enjoy the reputed position of being Federal Council member.

“We are extremely happy that, our officials could serve the Nation and its people at higher levels, through their experiences and knowledge they gained from service,” he added.

Director General recalled Eng. Rashad’s outstanding performances in Archaeological Department, which made it one of the reputed departments in the country and wished that he could do better in representing people of Dubai through FNC.

In his speech Eng. Rashad thanked all for honouring him and said that it was the experience and service with Municipality that deserve the recognition as he could not have gained such a reward without it. He hoped that he would be trying to go up to the expectation of the people and society and serve the nation in days to come.

Food Control Department of Dubai Municipality has recently launched the second phase of food contact materials campaign in the municipality main building under the slogan “Safe Packing… Right Step towards Food Safety” as part of World Food Day 2011.

The event focused to provide different activities for school students regarding the safe packing of food materials, including workshops for parents.

Interested government authorities can participate in the campaign by contacting the food control department and Al Bayder Company, the sponsor of campaign this year.

The second phase of campaign has been launched by DHA associating the campaign theme under the World Food Day activities. There was a presentation on safe food packing, in addition to a workshop on how to know varieties of packages appropriate for each type of food such as hot, cold and acidic as well as fruits. A number of awareness pamphlets and brochures on the importance of food safety have been distributed to the public.

Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality has praised the efforts of Architectural Heritage Department, which has won two special awards in the annual Cityscape Architectural Awards as part of the Cityscape 2011 Exhibition. Municipality receives these awards for the third consecutive year in deferent categories.

Eng. Rashad Mohammed Bukhash, Director of Architectural Heritage Department at Dubai Municipality, said the prestigious awards were won by the department’s two renovation projects in the categories of tourism, travel and public transport and cultural heritage restoration that are: Renovation of buildings and markets of Historic Shindagha and revitalization of Hatta heritage mosque.

Bukhash noted that the old Suqs of Dubai reflect an important aspect of everyday life of Dubai history. It is a testimony of living tradition and architectural achievements of local wisdom in the UAE. In the early twentieth century, Dubai became the largest market along the Gulf Coast with approximately 350 shops in Deira suqs at that time. Dubai was also a transit point along the trade route from Iraq to Oman, and for dhows between India, East Africa and the Northern Gulf. This eventually led to the city’s establishment as a global centre of commerce where many cultures and traditions been blending allowing to develop a unique architecture character.

There are three other awards given to outstanding contributions in environmental protection, Islamic architecture art and planning of real estate projects.  Distinguished real estate projects have been also honoured in terms of innovative design, sustainability and environmental relevance in various emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia.

Cityscape Awards were launched eight years ago through Cityscape Dubai. Cityscape Real Estate Awards has been introduced globally this year as it has distinguished and honoured the best in the field of urban planning at global level. The primary objective of the award is to celebrate the excellence, honour the exceptional achievements, and thereby boost the level of architectural culture among communities.

Dubai Municipality will participate in GITEX 2011, which will be held at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from 9 to 13 October. The Municipality will present new technologies added to its website and the e-services provided to the customers by the various departments and sections of the Municipality.

Eng. Mohammed Zafeen, Director of Information Technology Department at Dubai Municipality said that the Municipality’s participation in the exhibition would highlight the progress reached by e-government in Dubai, as the exhibition will be an opportunity to learn about the latest in information technology.

The department will announce its new projects and systems and present the projects implemented and the e-services offered to companies and individuals.

“The participation of Dubai Municipality in GITEX 2011 would enhance the prestige of the Municipality at the local, regional and global levels as it is expected to exchange experiences with participants in this global event, which will include prominent companies and countries and attract a large number of visitors,” he said.

He pointed out that Dubai Municipality has been offering new innovative e-services in each year of the exhibition.

“By participating in GITEX exhibition, Dubai Municipality aims to spread the culture of e-transformation and to introduce Municipality services available on its portal,” Zafeen added.

Food Control Department of Dubai Municipality has recently updated and started distributing the guide for health and nutritional practices for school canteens. The guide contains most important food and health information, and best global practices documented scientifically in the field of health and food safety.

Khalid Shareef, Director of Food Control Department said the guide contains important requirements needed for health and safety of food in addition to good nutrition and we invite all companies supplying food to schools to obtain the approval of lists of foods based on the requirements described in the guide.

It consists of two parts. The first part covers health requirements and assurance of food safety in school canteens as well as requirements for companies supplying food to schools in addition to the instructions on how to ensure safety of food and meals in the stages of handling, cooking and serving. 

The second part contains important terms relating to food health and nutritional needs required by the age groups in schools and examples of a variety of school meals.

Municipality called upon entire schools in the Emirate of Dubai to cooperate and coordinate with it in this regard adhering to the requirements listed in the guide with periodic and proper follow-up of hygienic practices in dealing with the food for the benefit of health and safety of students.

Mr.Khalid Bin Zayed

Human Resources Department at Dubai Municipality has recently activated a new work management system for the staff. It came as part of keenness of the Department to achieve the vision and mission of the civic body and in support of its strategic goals for employees’ satisfaction and effective administration of human resources systems.

The implementation of this policy comes after the success of previous experiments in the field of human resources such as flexible duty time, work ethics and remote management system in addition to policy of patent, part time, training and occupational rotation.

Khalid Ali Bin Zayed, Director of Human Resources Department, said that through this project the civic body seeks to achieve employees’ self-monitoring on their commitment to the work. It also aims to provide reports to the leadership regarding the commitment of employees to the work without intensive follow up or monitoring as well as the reduction of paper usage.

“The system is distinguished with a number of specifications including the transition to non-paper procedures, use of national identification card for attendance system, control of delay and early departure, diversified flexible duty choices, control of absence, enhancement and benefits of motherhood permission. It also links employees’ absence with administrative procedures where the system will send daily notifications to the responsible persons through email showing the details of arrival and departure,” Khalid said.

“The project is aimed to combine the goals of both employees and the civic body increasing the occupational satisfaction. Municipality is keen to invest the occupational capabilities through more effective methods ensuring the corporate performance and rationalization of material resources for the oldest and largest service organization in the emirate of Dubai as it is the first government department applying such systems” he said.

“The human resource is considered one of the most important elements that helped municipality to achieve its successes and implement its targets,” he added.

Dubai, July 10, 2010: Emirates Gas, the leading supplier of LPG cylinders in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, recently launched a safety campaign in collaboration with the Public Health and Safety Department of Dubai Municipality, to raise awareness about implementing safety procedures in the handling, storage and usage of LPG cylinders. The two-week long campaign targeted business establishments like restaurants, cafeterias and hotels in Dubai.

The campaign ensured that businesses had special well-ventilated cabinets made of un-inflammable substances that were provided for gas cylinders and that no other hazardous or flammable substances are stored. Emirates Gas also ensured that fire-extinguishers were easily accessible in case of an emergency and pipelines and valves were serviced and maintained regularly.

Hesham Ali Mustafa, General Manager, Emirates Gas said that the company is committed to strengthening the use of safety requirements amongst its customers, “Safety first is our motto at Emirates Gas. LPG cylinders, which is one of the most popular fuels for cooking can also be very hazardous if not installed within certain standards. We believe that educating our customers is vital to reduce the incidence of fires and accidents due to gas leakage which is why it is important that the properties and safe handling are understood and applied.”

Eng. Sultan Al Suwaidi, Head of the Public Safety section at the Health and Public Safety Department, Dubai Municipality said, “Gas distribution companies, restaurants, cafeterias, public kitchens, and bakeries were targeted to avoid gas cylinders explosion due to misuse. It is also part of the daily department activities to ensure the implementation of safety procedures for gas cylinders.”

Emirates Gas regularly trains distributors and their employees in safe distribution, transportation and storage of LPG cylinders.

Etisalat Al Shamil and eLife customers can enjoy Free Wi-Fi access through dedicated hot-spot

Dubai May 12, 2010: As part of its ongoing commitment to providing a world-class communication network, Etisalat has signed an agreement with the Dubai Municipality to provide Wireless data communication at the Zabeel Park, Dubai through dedicated hotspots.  As per the agreement, jointly signed by Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality and Mr. Ghanim Al Marri, Dy. General Manager, Dubai region from Etisalat, Etisalat will provide wireless telecommunication services to cover the Zabeel Park area, enabling visitors to connect to the Internet.

Starting today, visitors to the park can enjoy uninterrupted connectivity through their Wi-Fi enabled devices, like Smartphones, Netbooks, Notebooks, PDAs and portable gaming consoles, to connect to the robust Wi-Fi network of Etisalat. The Wi-fi service aims to provide fast, reliable data communication services to the visitors at a nominal cost starting at AED 5 for the first 30 minutes.

Etisalat Al Shamil and eLife customers can enjoy free Wi-Fi access of up to 16 hours per month, depending on their subscription packages. Etisalat Internet subscribers and can simply use their existing username and password to avail the Wi-Fi service.

Al Shamil customers with 1-4Mb package can enjoy upto 4 Hours of free Wi-Fi access per month while subscribers with over 4Mb package can enjoy upto 8 hours of free Wi-fi access per month.  Etisalat eLife customers with starter package (1mb) will get 4 Hours of free access to the Wi-fi hotspot, while subscribers with packages above 8Mbps can enjoy 8 hours of free Wi-Fi internet, with additional 8 hours, making it 16 hours of free Wi-Fi access. 

Visitors can simply connect to the Wi-Fi network by making quick payments through their mobile phones and credit cards. Customers who wish to subscribe to Wi-fi access on a monthly basis can also do so for a  monthly fee of AED 95 per month, which will include 12 hours of Wi-Fi internet access, per month.

Etisalat mobile customers, who wish to avail this service can simply get the charges for the service deducted from their Wasel account, or get the charges billed to their post-paid account.

Visitors, who are not existing Etisalat customers, can purchase the Wi-Fi hotspot prepaid cards and Etisalat Blue prepaid cards or make payments through their credit card to use the service.

Commenting on this latest initiative Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah , Director General of Dubai Municipality said , “Offering state-of-art technology and facilities has always been our priority at Dubai Municipality in our endeavour to provide better services to the residents of Dubai. Our partnership with Etisalat for this latest initiative, will provide excellent connectivity services to the public and is part of our overall plan to ensure access anytime, anywhere.”

Mr. Ghanim Al Marri Dy. General Manager, Dubai region from Etisalat said, “Etisalat is delighted to partner with Dubai Municipality in its vision to provide a holistic and robust telecommunication infrastructure in the Emirate. The new initiative of connecting Zabeel Park through Etisalat’s Wi-Fi hotspot service substantiates our promise to provide a convenience, coverage and value to our customers, who can now connect to the Internet while on the move, at affordable costs.”

For more information on service, customers can visit www.etisalat.ae

MAPEI sponsors high-profile gathering and outlines company’s contributions to sustainable development of Dubai

May 11, 2010

The Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) department of Dubai Municipality has recently concluded a consultative meeting wherein more than 200 current and potential clients of DCL joined key government officials in discussing challenges and opportunities in promoting Dubai’s sustainable development. MAPEI, global leader in the production of adhesives, sealants and chemical products for buildings, participated as sponsor of the event and provided a presentation of the significant contributions of its premium range of products to Dubai’s green building initiative as well as the special properties that make MAPEI the ideal solution for the region’s climatic conditions.

DCL announced during the event that it is deploying new testing equipment to ensure strict compliance of contractors to Dubai Government’s green building regulations. Moreover, the test facilities will be further expanded to include advanced tests for detecting heavy metals in paint and coating by using ICP, Volatile Organic Compound through Gas Chromatography, Light Reflective Values of external surface and coatings, and solar reflective index for external coating.

Speaking at the event, Eng. Hawa Abdulla Bastaki, Director of DCL, discussed the expanding range of DCL’s services: “The Engineering Material Laboratory section of DCL received accreditation for 25 more tests from Dubai Accreditation Centre as per ISO 17025, and this makes a total accreditation of 51 tests. This accreditation covers tests related to materials such as thermal insulations, asphalt, soil aggregate, concrete, steel etc. We are also in the process of implementing new services, including testing of car tyres, timber and timber products, ceramic tiles, paints and coatings.”

“As per the directions and vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Municipality and other departments in Dubai are implementing green building regulations to address the emirate’s long-term environmental challenges,” added Eng. Bastaki.

Laith Haboubi, Business Development Director, IBS-MAPEI, said: “MAPEI’s participation at the meeting was in line with the company’s commitment to support Dubai Government in its efforts to protect and conserve the environment and ensure a clean and healthy living community. MAPEI is fully prepared to address all environmental requirements of the emirate as we have more than 150 products that are recognised to contribute to LEED certification and comply with most environmental and green building certification systems. Moreover, as Dubai moves ahead with its green building program, MAPEI will continue to focus on a parallel initiative to develop environmentally conscious products that complement the government’s environmental advocacy.”

The meeting was also attended by Eng. Salem Mohammed Bin Mesmar, Assistant Director General for Environment, Health and Safety Affairs; Eng. Khalid Abdelrahim Abdalla, Director of Customer Relations; Eng. Ali Ahmed Elian, Head of Engineering Material Section of Dubai Central Laboratory; and representatives from the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). An open forum was also held during the event wherein DCL received suggestions and ideas from customers, contractors and consultants.

Selected consultants and contractors were also honoured during the event for their contributions to Dubai’s green building program. Certificates were distributed to all recipients by Eng. Bastaki.

Dubai Municipality has launched a two-month campaign called “Youth without Smoking” this week, which will culminate with the World No Tobacco Day on May 31.

The event, involving 10 schools, will include three sporting events.

A team from the Municipality Clinic, along with members of the Dubai Health Authority and Dubai Medical College, will conduct medical examinations free of charge for young people and make them aware of the seriousness of the hazards of smoking, which threatens their health and future.