Source: www.gulftoday.ae
DUBAI: As part of Dubai Municipality’s keenness and efforts to make Dubai the greenest eco-friendly city in the Middle East, the civic body has effectively participated in the activities and celebrations of 32nd Afforestation Week 2012 observed last week launching several cultivation projects in different parts of the emirate of Dubai.
A closing ceremony was conducted by launching the third cultivation stage in Dubai Bypass Road and Jima road in Alafaya under the patronage of Eng. Matar Al Tayer, Chairman and CEO of RTA, Dubai and in the presence of Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, a number of senior officials and with the participation of school students and agricultural companies.
Lootah said that as Dubai is an international city and has secured top ranks in several categories at a global level, such as business, tourist attraction and infrastructure, they are committed to upgrade the city in line with the changes and developments across the world. To achieve their targets in making Dubai the best place to live, the municipality has been participating in the national afforestation week initiative every year.
Ahmed Abdul Kareem, director of public parks and horticulture, said these projects aim to prevent mudslides, improve the quality of air and provide more shaded areas in public places of Dubai. The length of this stage is around six kilometres, along which different types of trees such as Ghaf, Rak and shrubs are cultivated.
The first and second stages of this project were completed in January 2012, in which an area of 17 km was cultivated with 34,487 different types of trees and bushes.
As part of the third stage, the civic body also launched the Jima road cultivation project in Alafaya area in the presence of Eng. Abdullah Rafee, Assistant Director General, senior officials and residents of Hatta.
In total, the public parks and horticulture department has completed the cultivation of 2,940 ornamental trees, 2,230 local environment trees, 3,300 ornamental shrubs, 800 local bushes in addition to the cultivation of 2,150 square metres of flowers and 7,100 square metres of green areas.
