Nightly noise from Abu Dhabi building site blasted

ABU DHABI // Disgruntled residents are demanding workers at a construction site near their homes down tools earlier to stop them being disturbed by noise late into the night.

The "continual banging" and "horrible noise" is making it hard for people to sleep at the block of flats near to Khalifa Park, they said.

Nevine Saied, from Egypt, said residents have called police many times because of the din from one particular site, located next to the Ministry of Labour and very close to their apartments.

"The noise is horrible. It lasts for a long time, even on Fridays," Ms Saied said.

"Sometimes they stay until late, and sometimes there are just two or three people hammering late at night or arranging metal sheets but they are throwing them and it makes a noise.

"If they are working quietly then that's fine but the problem is that they are not working quietly."

The mother of two said her son, 9, could not sleep because of the noise coming from the site, where an office building is being built.

"Sometimes he sleeps in the living room or in my room if the noise is bad," said Ms Saied, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for three years. "In the late night, when it's less hot, they start getting more active, from 6pm to 12am, and it gets noisier.

"At the moment the building work finishes about midnight. In the past they were working 24 hours around the clock."

A 66-year-old man who lives in the block, who did not want to be named, shared her frustration.

"The noise problem is continual banging and clanging. It's just incessant and starts at six o'clock in the morning," he said.

Work at the site used to go on until 4am, he said, until he complained to Abu Dhabi Municipality three months ago.

"They started to stop at 8pm for a period of time - about two weeks - and thereafter they went back to their normal routine of working very late at night, going until 2am or 3am. Now it's going until 11pm.

"I have been using ear plugs and it has no effect. The sound is so loud it's unbelievable."

A woman who lives near the site said she was unable to sleep, felt tired and suffered from headaches.

"It's very loud. It's continual banging. It's like it's right outside the window, 'bang, bang, bang'. In the day, it's no problem but it's the night time," she said.

A 17-year-old Emirati resident said the noise did not keep him awake but was annoying.

"They should stop early - after 5pm or 6pm," he added.

An engineer working on the project, who did not want to be named, said that usual working hours on the site were from 6am until 6pm but that would be extended when they were working with concrete.

This could be until 8pm or even later if they were dealing with large concrete slabs, he said, sometimes until 2 or 3am.

"This will not be daily, this will be one or two times a month only," he said. He added the company had permission from the municipality to finish late when working with concrete slabs.

The engineer said that when the company knew it would be working late it sends an apology letter to residents, informing them.

Developer Sorouh owns the building and the land but the work is being carried out by a separate construction company.

A spokesman for Sorouh said: "The current construction at the project is in compliance with all the local authorities' rules and regulations, and we are sorry for any inconvenience that has been caused."

Abdulaziz Zurub, the director of the environment, health and safety division at the municipality, said that "heavy work", which is the noisiest, was not allowed after 7pm but "light work", which was quieter, could be carried out at any time.

He said contractors could be given permission to work at night with concrete but with conditions meaning they cannot make too much noise.

Mr Zurub was not aware of a complaint regarding this site but said: "If the public have any complaints please call 800 555 to complain about the noise pollution and we will take immediate action."

ecleland@thenational.ae