AL AIN // The Dh780 million (US$213m) upgrade of the Al Ain-Dubai motorway is expected to halve travel time between the two cities when it is completed in Nov 2010.
The project, which began in June, will double the road's capacity from two to four lanes and raise the speed limit from 120kph to 140kph.
It is the most expensive development project ever undertaken by the municipality.
Dr Mattar al Nuaimi, the executive director of infrastructure and assets at Al Ain municipality, says the upgrade is long overdue because of the increasing traffic between the two cities, particularly at weekends, national holidays and other major events.
He said many Al Ain residents commute to Dubai, choosing to live the quieter, more family-friendly life of the oasis city while working in the booming emirate next door.
"People feel that it's easier to get to work from Al Ain than from within the city because of the heavy traffic," said Dr Nuaimi. "At the weekends and during holidays, we see a lot of people come to get away to Al Ain for the peace and quiet and to relax. They see it as a retreat from the busy lifestyle of Dubai."
Hyder Consulting are the engineers for the project and Hill International are managing it. The road will be reshaped in many places to remove bends that will no longer be safe at 140kph.
"Eventually, the road will be better quality and safer," said Dr Nuaimi. "We hope that this will, in time, make Al Ain far more accessible and appealing for people in Dubai, residents, business people and tourists."
Access and service roads will be improved for residents.
Existing bridges and flyovers will be knocked down and rebuilt to accommodate the wider road, which will link previously isolated towns, villages and farms and end in Dubai's Al Faga area.
mswan@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
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Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Company%20Profile
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Business Insights
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- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
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Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
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Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
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Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
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Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
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Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
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Naga
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UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
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Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
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Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Torque: 350 and 360Nm
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