Umm Suqeim beach to be partially closed for 9 months

The popular Umm Suqeim beach in Dubai will see partial closure for about nine months, starting from the next week, to facilitate the rehabilitation of a 3.5km stretch of beach that has faced “severe erosion due to offshore development,” the Dubai Municipality has said.

The civic body has asked the public to observe safety regulations and keep away from the work sites in Umm Suqeim 1, 2 and 3 beaches starting from the second fishing harbour to Burj Al Arab Hotel.

The municipality’s statement came along with its announcement that Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality has approved the Dh35million project to rehabilitate the beach on the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The Director-General of Dubai Municipality, Hussain Nasser Lootah, said the project was part of the responsibilities of the Dubai Municipality for the management of public beaches in the emirate ensuring the sustainability of marine and coastal environment, and in line with the vision2020 of Dubai to develop the tourism sector which was announced by Shaikh Mohammed.

Lootah said: “Dubai Municipality will start implementation of the project as of next week and expects it to be completed in March. The project plan consists of constructing five groynes normal to the beach with lengths ranging between 135 and 165 meters and beach nourishment in Umm Suqeim 1. Whereas, in Umm Suqeim 2 beach, the stabilisation will be achieved by beach nourishment works only. The total volume of beach sand required to accomplish the proposed stabilisation scheme is approximately 760,000 cubic meters.”

Alya AbdulRahim Al Harmoudi, director of the Environment Department, said: “The Umm Suqeim beaches are (among) the most important public beaches in the emirate which attract thousands of visitors annually, due to their unique location and natural characteristics.

“But over the past years, these beaches have been subjected to severe erosion as a result of the implementation of offshore development projects. This led to the loss of large parts of the coastal areas threatening the safety of buildings and infrastructure overlooking the sea, in addition to hindering the development works on these beaches,” she pointed out.

One of the main advantages of groynes, the official said, is that there will be minor change in the wave characteristics unlike the nearshore breakwaters which drastically change the wave characteristics by preventing the waves from reaching the shore.

Al Harmoudi added that the municipality innovatively developed the structural designs of the groynes which were also succefully implemented to stabilise the beach of Jumeirah First.

The proposed groynes are composite type made of timber logs fixed to steel piles instead of conventional rubble mound structures for asthetic reasons. In addition, the proposed design does not occupy much space from the beach area since it does not exceed one meter, unlike the conventional structure in which the structure is at 30 meters wide.

“The project will be executed in different stages to avoid completely closing the beaches considering its high recreational use. The public is urged to cooperate with the municipality and the project contractor throughout the stages of partial closures of these beaches complying with the safety instructions and regulations and should refrain from entering the work sites for their own safety.

“The main works will be commenced taking into account the entire safety measures in line with international standards adopted in this regard so as to ensure the safety of beach and public,” added Al Harmoudi.

sajila@khaleejtimes.com