DUBAI // For a while, Discovery Gardens lived up to its expectations as an affordable community with swimming pools and tennis courts.
But five years on, people who bought into the community close to Ibn Battuta Mall say they have been let down by the developer, Nakheel.
Michael Aldendorff, a South African who bought his one-bedroom flat for Dh726,000 in 2007, is one of a number of owners in Discovery Gardens refusing to pay service fees.
"We were promised so much but it's never been delivered," Mr Aldendorff said. "The original plans showed a large park … but that is just sand and dust at the moment.
"The basketball and tennis courts, I believe, have been leased out to a third-party company to allow them to run classes. So … during certain periods of the day residents can't use the courts as classes are taking place.
"I don't think the gyms will ever be built and the swimming pools remain locked. I've not paid my service fee for the past two years and that's simply because Nakheel haven't kept their promises."
Mr Aldendorff said owners in Discovery Gardens were paying one of the highest rates in the emirate at about Dh19 a square foot.
Kiron Bellani, an Indian who paid Dh1.2 million for her one-bedroom flat in Discovery Gardens in 2008, said she had regretted it ever since.
"The problem was that I bought at the height of the market and it's not worth anything near that now," Ms Bellani said. "When I moved in the landscaping was lush and green. The grass was regularly cut and the public areas were kept clean and tidy."
In the past few years the communal areas have deteriorated, she said, and street lighting is not turned on.
Ms Bellani recently paid Dh20,000 in service charges.
Nakheel said there had been "major improvement" in landscaping in the first quarter last year and 13 pools were in advanced stages.
"We appointed a service provider for maintenance of landscaping and have been receiving positive feedback from residents about the condition on site," it said in a statement.
Nakheel set a deadline of January 25 for fee defaulters to pay up or be barred. Yesterday, residents who had not paid the fees said there was still no problem in accessing their flats.
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Getting%20there
On the menu
First course
▶ Emirati sea bass tartare Yuzu and labneh mayo, avocado, green herbs, fermented tomato water
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Company%20Profile
COMPANY PROFILE
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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The%20specs
Jigra
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
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The Byblos iftar in numbers
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50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
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160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
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Source: The National
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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The specs
Pros%20and%20cons%20of%20BNPL
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PRO%20MAX
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.