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Dh11.75m UAE flag planned for Dec 2

Najmuddeen Meera Hussain has had a thriving family business of making flags since the last 10 years. The owner of Around the World Clocks and Gifts (ATW), Hussain now aspires to launch the largest and longest UAE flag that could gain him entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Set to weigh 107 metric tones and measure 500,000 square meters (500 metres in length and 1km in width), Hussain said: “No one else must attempt to make a flag this big.”

The company will be spending Dh11.75 million towards the making of the flag and it will be assembled before National Day on December 2, this year.

Hussain, an Indian resident of Ajman said: “A total of 2,000 people have been employed to work on the project. The flag will be completed in 45 days, and will be assembled on December 2. The venue is undecided.” However, ATW has already applied to the Guinness Book of World Records and their application is currently being evaluated for a world record status. All raw materials have been imported from Europe and China. Since the flag will be too big to be hoisted, it will be draped or spread on a surface.

Currently, the world record for the largest draped flag is held by Lebanon and measures 65,975 square metres.

ATW has been supplying flags of 213 countries to the multi-cultural society of UAE since 1981.

“We decided to take up such a challenge after we saw the public fervor and patriotism for National Day last year. Dubai has a huge market for flags. A lot of conferences take place here, we have been supplying flags to several government offices, as well,” said Hussain. “Flag making is out business,” he said. “Our fathers were engaged in the textile business, as well.”

The company is not new to making big flags. It supplied the 117-metre-long UAE flag for the Union House in Satwa. “One of the reasons we decided to make this flag is because we saw a huge hike in demand for flags, last year. Response from both public and government sectors was very good.”

Hussain added that ATW in on the look out for sponsors to fund his dream project. “A few have come forward to lend support, but I am not at liberty to disclose names,” added Hussain.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com