The Ajman Daydream goes on and on...
This is one more article from Emirates Business 24 of 5 th April 2010
Ajman waterfront to help put city on tourist map
Tramways running along the beach and the creek are mooted as part of the area's strategic plan.
By Eman Al Baik
Published Monday, April 05, 2010
The Ajman Government has turned down some developers' proposals for projects that depend on land reclamation from the sea, because of environmental concerns. (EB FILE)
The Ajman Creek, which forms two-thirds of the emirate's waterfront, is the focus of an urban development plan that aims to attract tourists and commercial activities.
According to suggestions in the Ajman Waterfront Strategic Plan, the creek should be cleaned and used for transportation. Also among the project proposals is a tramway running along the beach and the creek, and a beach park.
The plan comes under the emirate's Urban Planning Strategy 2030 and is aimed at offering an attractive waterfront that would place the city on the tourist map and make it a desirable destination to work and live in, said Dr Ghada Mahmoud Hafez, Director of the Strategy and Plan Project, Ajman Municipality and Planning Department, during the three-day Ajman International Urban Planning Conference.
Some projects, such as the two hotels on the beach, Ajman Marina and Al Zorah, are currently under way. Other projects, such as restaurants and entertainment avenues on the beach, have been completed already, she said.
The plan, obtained by Emirates Business, suggests setting up of multi-purpose community centres and complexes and expanding streets that connect the beach with the heritage area.
"It is important to create a tourist avenue by connecting the beach – where the hotels are – with the heritage area situated behind in addition to linking the beach with the creek – which is 28km in length – by a tramway and a walkway," said Hafez. "The Industrial Free Zone, which occupies 12 per cent of the waterfront, should be turned into a multi-purpose free zone to allow commercial and tourism-related activities. Currently, only six per cent of the emirate's waterfront is under use," she said.
The Ajman Government has turned down some developers' proposals for projects that depend on land reclamation from the sea, on grounds that they may adversely affect the marine environment and deprive people of an unrestricted view of the sea. The government stressed the importance of having waterfront projects that would benefit everyone, not just the elite, she said.
However, since the Ajman coastline is shallow, land can be easily reclaimed to expand the beach and create a beachfront park and other entertainment areas to meet the needs of residents and draw tourists, Hafez added.
"The designs of the buildings and complexes on the waterfront should become landmarks in the emirate, as they will be Ajman's face to the world," said the official. "This comes under the regulations of the emirate's waterfront urban planning."
A study carried out earlier showed the misuse of waterfront land for lack of appropriate planning. Some industrial activities on the creek caused water pollution and obstructed the sea view at Mushairef area, she said. The current plan highlights the importance of re-planning the two sides of the creek for better utilisation in every way, said Hafez.
She noted that the creek, which forks out in two branches, can be used for transportation, especially as it reaches close to the city centre, which is the commercial activity hub in the emirate. The study also showed there are areas on the coastline that are isolated from the city. These areas can be linked with the city via the road network and can be used for complexes and tourism projects, said Hafez.
"At the moment, Al Safia Island is not optimally utilised. It can be turned into a prime tourist attraction, thanks to its natural splendour," she said. Ajman downtown, which is situated behind the waterfront, is a vantage point for facilitating tourist movement and it should be better linked with the waterfront by an expanded road network, said Hafez.
The plan suggests the need for bridges above the creek to connect Mushairef and Al Jurf areas with the rest of the city. Traffic congestion along the corniche should be reduced by expanding the parallel roads. It also emphasises the need to specify the heights of buildings and complexes that will come up near the waterfront.
The plan
The Ajman Waterfront Strategic Plan has divided the emirate's waterfront into six areas:
- The City Entrance
- The Downtown
- The Free Zone
- Al Safia Island
- Al Mushairef Area
- Al Zorah
Escrow account will allow
Escrow account will allow Developer to withdrawal your hard earned money to pay the salary of their staff and even owner's expenses, since they are associated with the construction activities without even building a single inch.
Escrow is only making us fool and nothing else... Big mess..... now either god knows or only god knows since government is sleeping on your and mine money and developers are eating grapes.
We stuck with these team of cheaters and the head of team is "R" Holding.
Developers
There are good and bad developers. There were some, who have left the country with the investors' money, but there are lots, who actually got into a terrible situation because of the master developer, which for EC is R-Holding, who is doing nothing. R-Holding is standing by, waiting until the crisis is over and think they can then continue as before. At fault is certainly the Ajman government, which does not manage to address the situation. They either don't know how to address it or they simply don't want to address it. Ajman never had a lot of money. The sales of their land to developers during the boom years gave them a lot of cash. This and the free zone is their main income. So they simply don't have the money to set up infrastructure in EC or to start building power stations etc., which are needed to make this new community function. Upsetting is the luxurious life style of the ruling family of Ajman, which is financed by us investors. Sheikh Rashid takes his red and orange cars with him wherever he goes and he is only one example. If one of us goes to the UAE and owes money there, he/she gets locked up. They parade around in our luxury hotels and stores in Europe in full impunity. Unfortunately, this is how the world goes.
My point is: Let's not put all developers into the same pot, some of them are - as hard as it is to believe - victims, too.
Escrow Account
I also belive escrow account does not guarantee and ensure either handover of the unit as per contract or refund of 100% of the investors amount. It isjust one more mechanism to grab investors money i.e. you have to pay if the project has escrow account or the developercan cancell the contract without any refund of the amount paid. (I assume the rules have been built to protect the MasterDevelopers and/or developers (mostly owned directly or indirectly by the Government).
Recently, the news that Ajman Boulevard (Project on ARRA's approved list with ESCROW account) has been scrapped (informed verbally) but has not been declared offically and the developers verbal information is that all the amount they received from the investors has already been spent on advertisement, salaries, office expenses and they is no amount left for construction or refund.
The Ajman day dream and the reality
This is not in direct relation to our Emirates City issues, but it just shows, how the Ajman Urban Planing Strategy 2030 is a mere daydream.
This article from Emirates Business 24:
Ajman taxi owners on a bumpy ride
14 April 2010
Lack of passengers, poor market conditions and accumulation of fines are causing taxi companies to scale down operations in Ajman, with at least one operator – Advantage Taxi – on the verge of closing down.
Even after a recent hike in taxi fares, operators have been under strain due to declining passenger numbers. There are about 1,600 taxis in Ajman licensed to be operated by four companies – Advantage Taxi, Cit Taxi, Arabia Taxi and Speed Taxi.
Taxi companies in Ajman – and even Sharjah – have been affected not only by the drastic reduction in the number of customers, but also by heavy fines accumulated by some erring drivers who are not even earning enough to compensate for the fines. Taxi company executives in Ajman said they were not using all the number plates allotted to them because of low business volumes and the high annual franchising fees paid to Ajman Transport.
"We have 600 taxi number plates but only 480 vehicles on road. Others are lying idle. Another company with 400 number plates has only 280 vehicles on the roads," said an executive, requesting anonymity.
Companies have to pay Ajman Transport Dh800 per month for each number plate and have been negotiating with the body for a reduction in the amount by at least Dh50 per month, which would provide them a huge relief. A taxi company with 600 operational taxi number plates has to pay Dh480,000 per month just as licence fees, and when business has come down, all companies want a reduction in this fee.
"A Dh50 discount would save us Dh36,000 per year," said another taxi company executive.
As rents in Dubai and Sharjah came down, many Ajman residents who were attracted by the low rents there, moved to the two emirates. The number of labourers residing in Ajman went down as many labour camps closed or shifted to places such as Al Qouz in Dubai where rents fell. Taxi drivers in Ajman have been unable to meet their high targets because of this fall in the number of residents. As a consequence, leading taxi company, Advantage Taxi, is about to close down its operations in the emirate with effect from May 18 and others are scaling down their operations.
Advantage Taxi, which operates 400 taxis in Ajman, will transfer part of its drivers and fleet to its Sharjah operations and retrench the remaining drivers. When contacted, company officials anonymously confirmed to Emirates Business that operations in Ajman would be stopped from next month.
Officially, however, Abdul Humaid, General Manager, Advantage Taxi Ajman, and Mahmoud Idris, in charge of its Sharjah and Ajman operations, said they could not confirm the closure of the company because negotiations were on and the final word would come from Al Yousuf Motors, the owners of the company. Al Yousuf Motors did not comment on the closure news.
Idris said: "Negotiations are going on between us and the Ajman Transport Corporation to renew our three-year contract after revising its terms. A final decision on the Ajman operations will come from the owners."