His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board & Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), has recently received H.E. Rainer Bomba, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building & Urban Development, and H.E.

Gunther Adler, Head of External Economic Affairs. Also present were representatives of top German firms engaged in building, operating and maintaining of mass transit means & traffic control systems as well as a host of CEOs & Directors of the RTA.

At the outset of the meeting, Al Tayer welcomed the German Minister and praised the cooperative relationships linking the RTA with German firms operating in roads & transportation field.

“We’ve extensive partnership relationships with several German businesses particularly in the Dubai Metro project, public buses and electronic systems,” remarked Al Tayer.

He then gave the German delegation an overview of the Dubai Metro project which started in July 2006 and extends 75 km in both the Red and Green Lines. The elevated track runs 58.7 km, the underground track extends 12.6 km and the surface track extends 3.3 km on the Red Line only.

“The total transit time on the Red Line is about 65 minutes whereas the total transit time on the Green Line is about 35 minutes. Among the key design features of the Dubai Metro project is that it has a fully automated operational system, central air-conditioning system in all stations & attached footbridges, and auto doors to seclude passenger platforms from the rail track. The project also has three maintenance & storage depots at Al Rashidiya, Al Qusais and Jebel Ali. Each train has a capacity to take 643 passengers and comprises two types of metro carriages; a Gold Class and Silver Class in addition to an exclusive compartment for women and children.

“There are 79 trains to run the service but currently 50 trains are deployed for the daily operations offering service at 4-6 minutes frequency (headway) during peak hours, and 6-8 minutes frequency during off-peak hours. The design capacity of the metro is about 26 thousand persons per hour per direction and a headway of 90 seconds; however, the currently used capacity is in the order of 37%; which illustrates the potentials of the Dubai Metro to handle the projected passengers’ growth in decades to come,” elaborated Al Tayer.

The German delegation commended the speedy delivery of infrastructure projects such as roads, Dubai Metro, revamp of public buses fleet and the integration between mass transit means. He cited the Dubai Metro project featuring terrific design, high level finishing works, and excellent passengers’ service experience.

The German State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building & Urban Development expressed his aspirations for establishing cooperative and partnership relationships between the two parties that pave the way for sharing expertise and benefiting from individual practices in public transport and rail systems. He added that he would be looking forward for the German firms to take part in the projects & programs to be adopted by the RTA in future.

Oasis Centre, Dubai’s friendly mall, announced the launch of its Wellness Festival to help UAE residents identify key health issues and promote balanced lifestyles. The event includes a plethora of wellness related special offers, giveaways, workshops and activities.

Running from 15 – 29 February, the Oasis Wellness Festival will offer tips on a comprehensive range of topics. Each day will host focused efforts on themes such as ‘Embracing Motherhood’, ‘Daily De-stress’, ‘Family Health’, ‘Heal & Balance’ and ‘Fabulous over 50′.

Neelesh Bhatnagar, Director, Oasis Centre, said, “Oasis Centre’s Wellness Festival is our way of giving back to the society. The mall’s roll out of concepts in recreation, relaxation and dining segments such as the Balance Wellness Club, Balance Cafe and Fitness First validate our status as a one-stop-destination for a holistic lifestyle experience for the entire family. The early part of the year is a time for fresh resolutions and we hope our wellness initiative will help residents get started on their goals.”

Oasis Centre’s Wellness Festival will also include pre and post natal workshops by Balance Wellness Club, ‘healthy’ cooking demonstrations by Balance Café and couple’s dancing classes by Fitness First. Healthy eating tips for the community will additionally be shared.

Oasis Centre’s expansive parking-lot and easily accessible location allow customers to browse and enjoy the mall’s wide variety of activities and health offerings in a leisurely manner. In addition, the exclusive tie-up with Shukran, Landmark Group’s loyalty scheme, extends double points at the Oasis Centre making it a must-visit destination for shoppers looking to avail further value-for-money. More info

Dubai: The tenth online auction recently launched by the Licensing Agency of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) generated nearly Dh4 million.

Some 507 number plates were on offer, and included distinguished 4 and 5-digit number plates of the M category.

The total proceeds from the auction reached Dh3.911 million, said Mohammad Abdul Karim Nimaat, Director of Vehicles Licensing at RTA Licensing Agency.

The auction saw high participation as the M-category number plates were launched.

“The plate M-12233 was the sales topper as it fetched a sum as high as Dh27,000 followed by M-1123 exchanged for Dh26,400 and M-11169 sold for Dh25,700,” said Nimaat.

The next online auction will be held on February 21.

Dubai: The Dubai public transportation Nol cards will be good for buying grocery items and for payment of shopping from different outlets in the emirate.

* Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News * Mohammad Yousuf Al Mudharreb

Before the end of the year, Nol cards, which are now used for public transportation, will be enabled to function as an e-wallet that will allow people to use them at groceries, Mohammad Yousuf Al Mudharreb, director, Unified Automated Fare Collection Department, said in an exclusive interview.

RTA is already in talks with prominent grocery and supermarket chains to seek their participation.

Unlike credit cards and debit cards, where customers have to wait in queues and sign slips, the touch-and-go technology used in Nol cards means customers can just scan and leave, similar to the way they exit Metro stations, Al Mudharreb said.

Maximum recharge

The cards can be recharged the same way as is done now. And the maximum recharge will continue to be Dh500.

Residents will not have to buy new cards but simply use their existing card after ensuring it has sufficient funds.

As the sale of Nol cards has surpassed RTA’s forecasts, the introduction of a micropayment option will invigorate use of Nol cards, officials hope.

“We want people to feel attached to their Nol cards. We want them to grow the habit of frequently using the cards. This will eventually encourage use of public transportation,” he said.

“Besides this, the government has invested so much in developing the Nol cards system that we want it to be leveraged beyond the scope of RTA services,” he added.

Nol cards are used in over 1.2 million traffic transactions in the city every day.

With over 500 sales points that also offer top-up facilities, the new feature of Nol cards could become popular, officials anticipate.

Four million Nol cards have been sold by the RTA since it was first launched in August 2009, of which three million are active users (who frequently use the card within a span of two months).

Positive response

“Majority of the Nol card sales were recorded in the first two years. Now the market is saturated and the sales are going down a bit, although it has surpassed our forecasts,” Al Mudharreb said.

“This led us to consider expanding the use of Nol cards beyond RTA services,” he said.

The initial response from merchants has been very positive, he said.

“Merchants would prefer use of Nol cards because cash handling costs them money as they often employ cash management companies.”

“And many credit card companies are not interested in these small amounts of money because it does not benefit them much,” he said.

What is Nol?

The unified automated fare collection card (UAFC) has been named after an old Farsi word nol. “Nol” means “fare” or “cost of using transport”. The word is not in common use these days.

Nol is similar to another Arabic word karwa — which is commonly used in Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Qatari dialects. Karwa means “fare” or “cost” of doing any service or certain job. In the past, nol was used to refer to fare or cost of using horse and donkey transportation. More info

In the Middle East, UAE operator Du has announced that it has provided wifi access across the Dubai Metro, the majority shareholder in Orange Israel is looking to sell its stake in the firm and a Bahraini operator is left reeling after the Indian Supreme Court cancels its licence to provide 2G services in the country.

Du has teamed up with Chinese vendor Huawei on a project to provide wifi access across the Dubai Metro, which will deploy its transmission network solution across the rail service. The project will see passengers and small retail businesses able to access mobile services in the stations across 18 metro stops on the Green line.

Huawei admitted that it sees a lucrative opportunity among urban rail operators. The vendor said that it has completed a number of rail projects worldwide, and that the MENA region is currently the world’s fastest growing market for rail projects and is expected to double in size in the next decade. There is more than $250bn of planned investment in the railways sector in the region and Huawei said that rail is central to its growth in the region.

“Dubai is a great place to live, work and do business in, but as the city continues to grow, congestion and traffic are becoming more problematic,” said Dr. Liu Qi, president, Middle East for Huawei Enterprise. “Better public transport infrastructure is an added draw for businesses investing in the region.”

Meanwhile, the majority shareholder of Orange Israel, Scailex Corporation, is looking to sell its stake in the operator. In Israel, France Telecom’s Orange brand is operated by a company called Partner Networks, in which Scailex currently holds a share of approximately 44.5 per cent.

The company has appointed Deutsche Bank and Lazard Freres to oversee the sale of its stake and Deutsche Bank has confirmed that it will supply a credit line of up to $1bn to the winning bidder, if necessary and subject to certain conditions.

The company is considering options including a deal that would turn Partner into a privately held company, according to Scailex’s statement.

And Bahraini operator Batelco said that it is carefully studying the detailed judgement handed down by the Supreme Court of India with its legal advisers and STel Management, following the decision from the Supreme Court of India to cancel 122 spectrum licences purchased in 2008.

Batelco invested in STel in order to enter the Indian market and said that it did so after following a diligence exercise with the support of financial and commercial advisers. The company said that it also received certain representations and warranties from STels promoter regarding the validity of the licence. However, it stressed that it was not involved in the bidding for licences, which have since been found to be marred by corruption.

“Batelco was not involved in the STel licence application process nor had any knowledge of any of the events surrounding the granting of the 2G licences in January 2008,” the firm said in a statement.

Batelco will also review the sustainability of its business operations under the revised conditions imposed by the Indian Supreme Courts. It has held 42.7 per cent equity in STel since May 2009.

“As Batelco continues to grow and diversify its operations, it intends to explore all options to remain involved in the Indian telecommunications market,” the company added. More info

Qatar Railways Company (QRC), which is implementing the $40bn rail network, yesterday launched  the very first set of contracts for “enabling works”,  expecting companies to submit their proposals in a month, a senior official announced.

“Four tunnelling RFP (request for proposal) contracts, each worth $2-$3bn, will be issued in April first week and work awarded in October,” deputy chief executive officer Geoff Mee told the Qatar Projects 2012 conference.
The initial packages include one each for the Msheireb and Education City stations, the former expected to be the busiest station of the metro network.
“The project has been accelerated by 18 months on account of Qatar’s bid for the 2020 Olympics,” he explained while observing that the phase 1A of the metro needs to be finished in 2019.

Phase 1A, which comprises the four tunnelling packages and the Msheireb and Education City stations, will extend from the New Doha International Airport to the race circuit (Losail).

“Phase 1B (second phase) will see the metro stretching to Al Wakrah and Al Khor and expanding the initial network to all the stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” Mee said.

The first phase involves 52km of single-bore tunnelling whereas the second phase has only a few more kilometres of tunnelling with the rest of the work being at elevated grade, outside the city.

“As soon as the contracts are awarded, we intend to order the tunnel boring machines;  we are in discussions with the manufacturers,” the official stated.

The 30 pre-qualified contractors will be invited for presentations, regarding tunnelling, towards the end of this month and the most competent shortlisted.
QRC is holding a meeting on February 15 for Qatari businesses in the concrete manufacturing industry to give them an idea of the volume of concrete needed for the works.

Given the very compressed timescale, there will be restrictions on the number of contracts each consortium can bid for.

“It is vital for each international company to have a competent local partner who knows the ground reality,” the official said while stressing that only the best teams would be selected.

Considering that the construction period spans eight years, QRC is working with Ashghal (Public Works Authority) and other government agencies on how to control the cost escalation.

“There is no doubt about the viability of the mass rapid transport system in the Middle East. The success of the Dubai Metro is a good example. We are going to do it even better,” Mee said.

An Indian tourist who visited the UAE for the Dubai Shopping Festival has hit the jackpot by winning three kilogrammes of gold on Sunday night, but he was not in the UAE to collect the gold prize as he had returned home after catching a flu in Dubai’s current cold weather.

Kalyan Kanji, an Indian tourist, who was here on a visit, purchased the prize-winning coupon No.62531 from a Joy Alukkas Jewellery outlet.
About ten Indian tourists, who visited the UAE for the shopping festival, won half a kilo of gold each.

The organisers have not made a formal announcement because they are waiting for the winner to return to the UAE to collect his fortune.

According to the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group (DGJG), 24 winners are Indians living in the UAE or on visit for the Dubai Shopping Festival.

The first winner of the DSF gold raffle draw held on January 5, 2012 was an Indian resident of Dubai, Cheni Garam Ganbga who had bought gold from the Chittillappilly outlet in Grand City Mall. The last winner of the mega prize is also an Indian who won 3 kg of gold. “Majority of the gold buyers from the participating outlets were Indian residents or tourists. So it is natural that they dominate the winners’ list too,” said an Indian jewellery retailer in Dubai.

Abdul Salam, executive director, Malabar Gold, said five of the DSF gold prize winners purchased gold from their Dubai outlets in shopping malls. “Indian tourists have been major gold buyers during the shopping festival. Many Indian tourists visited the UAE forthe shopping festival. They purchase gold from the UAE because gold here is pure and they save some money too,” he said. More info

Huawei, a leading global information and communication technology (ICT) solutions provider, has successfully deployed its transmission network solution on the Dubai Metro through Du, enabling passengers and small retail businesses access to mobile services in the stations across 18 metro stops in total on the green line.

Huawei announces the successful completion of the project following the Middle East Rail that took place recently where it showcased its portfolio of railway solutions and participated in a series of panel discussions.

Huawei offers a comprehensive set of products and solutions to urban rail operators and has completed a number of ground-breaking rail projects worldwide. With the MENA region currently the world’s fastest growing market for rail projects, expected to double in size in the next decade, rail is central to Huawei’s growth in the region.

Dr. Liu Qi, President, Middle East for Huawei Enterprise, commented: “Dubai is a great place to live, work and do business in, but as the city continues to grow, congestion and traffic are becoming more problematic. Better public transport infrastructure is an added draw for businesses investing in the region, and since it was created in 2009, the Dubai Metro has made the daily commute easier for thousands of workers.

“The transmission network we have built with Du provides access to 2G, 3G, WiFi and WiMAX services, so passengers on the Green Line can now enjoy the commuting experience that little bit more by browsing the Internet, checking their emails, working on their laptops or even conducting meetings on the move. In the forty years UAE has achieved many milestones – the construction of the Dubai Metro is a significant one, and we’re very pleased to have played our part.”

While the region is undergoing more than $250bn of planned investment in the railways sector, the GCC is leading the way with expected rail project spend of around $245bn, according to the MEED Railways Report 2011. More info

Carpet Oasis, the long-running carpet exhibition of Dubai Shopping Festival, has been drawing huge crowds with its range of exhibits featuring thousands of pieces of rare and hand-made carpets from countries that are known for their carpet weaving industries.

Carpet Oasis draws huge crowds with its range of exhibits featuring thousands of pieces of rare and hand-made carpets.

The exhibition of carpets, which started from the launch of DSF in 1996, has been a star attraction this DSF with people with a penchant for art, culture and carpets making their way to the West Hall of Dubai Airport Expo, to get a first-hand insight into the carpet industry. Yet, others go one step further and buy their favourite pieces from the vast collection on display.

Organized by Dubai Customs in conjunction with DSF, Carpet Oasis has on display some of the world’s rarest and most valuable collections of carpets, giving visitors an opportunity to get a better understanding of the historical and cultural value of carpets.

70 exhibitors are participating in Carpet Oasis, showcasing over 170,000 handmade carpets in an area of 12,000 sq m including an exclusive range of carpets from countries that have thriving carpet weaving industries including Iran, Afghanistan, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Turkey and China. More info