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Buildings boom in Dubai

DUBAI - A total of 461 multi-storey buildings are currently under construction in Dubai, which will add some 3252 apartments, 536 shops, 330 offices and 55 hotel rooms to the growing property sector of the emirate, figures released by the Building and Housing Department of Dubai Municipality show.

According to Eng. Mohammed Abdullah Al Tawhidi, Director of the department which regulates construction activities in Dubai, among the total multi-story buildings coming up in Dubai, 206 are in Deira which offer a total of 3207 apartment.

Apart from the multi-storey buildings, there are 4,747 other buildings currently under construction in Dubai, of which 2441 are in Deira, 2051 in Bur Dubai and 255 in rural areas.

Mr. Al Tawhidi added that the construction of some 578 buildings had been completed in Dubai during the second quarter of this year (April to June 2004) at a total cost of over Dh 2.24 billion.

The second quarterly report of the Building Control Section for this year shows that, of the total number of buildings, the construction of which was completed during the period under review, 258 were in Deira, 312 in Bur Dubai and eight buildings in rural areas. Of these, there were 393 villas, 85 industrial or service buildings and 100 investment properties including one hotel and 99 multi story apartment buildings that consist a total of 1394 apartments, 395 shops, 376 offices and 80 hotel rooms.

During the period under review, the section carried out some 28,465 transactions, of which the Engineering Supervision Unit processed 22,075 transactions, 5384 by the Inspection Unit, and 1006 by the Rural Inspection Unit.

The Engineering Supervision Unit processed 697 transactions of completed buildings, 66 related to disputes, 95 for changing of the contractor, 65 related to the replacement of consultants, 50 for getting utility connections and 1138 applications were related to the reimbursement of the deposit. The unit also issued 169 fines for violations of building rules and specifications and retained 37 caution deposits for breach of commitments on the part of the contractors.

Also during the second quarter of 2004, inspectors of the Building Inspection Unit conducted 5384 spot checks at various construction sites.

They imposed 225 fines and issued 1762 warnings to various firms and individuals for violating the construction rules and regulations.

The Rural Inspection Unit issued two fines and 65 warning notices against erring firms.

The Safety and Demolition Sub-unit carried out 45 demolitions in various parts of the emirate. Demolition of six of the buildings was carried out for development purposes. While the rest of the structures were dilapidated buildings, wooden caravans, shabby houses or buildings erected in violation of safety rules.