Tag Archives: entertainment
Sharjah Al Jazeera Park all set for grand reopening
Sharjah Al Jazeera Park all set for grand reopening Afkar Abdullah / 23 January 2014 Al Montazah boasts of three main sections- water park, green park for picnics and events and a leisure park offering a variety of electronic games. When the erstwhile Al Jazeera Park reopens to the public in the first quarter of this year, it will feature a first-of-its-kind water theme park, an amusement park, and a park designated for picnics, walking, and other leisure activities. The project, Al Montazah, covers an area of over 126,000 square metres. Shaikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi at the Press conference held at the site of the Al Montazah project in Sharjah. — KT photos by M. Sajjad The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) unveiled the project’s details in a press conference at the site of the Al Montazah project in the presence of Shaikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Shurooq; Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq; Duarte Marques, founder of Amusement White Water (AWW) -— a partner and construction contractor of Al Montazah; and a number of prominent figures and media representatives. Shaikha Bodour said Shurooq works in line with the directives of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to develop and improve the Emirate’s economic, social, and tourist assets. She said Shurooq is currently embarking on a range of new projects to further develop tourist attractions in the Emirate. Duarte Marques thanked Shaikha Bodour and Shurooq for putting their trust in AWW and their continued support, saying, “The purpose of this joint venture is to create an amusement and water park providing world class facilities that caters to the people of Sharjah. The brief from Shurooq was that we should maintain green areas, consider the history of the old Al Jazeera Park and respect the culture and heritage of Sharjah providing families with a safe and friendly environment to enjoy. “Although we faced numerous challenges during construction as we had to take an existing park on an island and turn it into a world-class family destination, we managed to overcome all obstacles with the help of Shurooq. This is just a start and we understand that we will have to make various changes to improve our guests’ experience in Al Montazah once the park opens.” Unveiling the project’s details, Al Sarkal said, “Al Montazah, which covers an area of 126,000 square meters and is situated on an island within Khalid Lagoon, will help stimulate the tourism sector in Sharjah, and is expected to draw more than one million visitors during the first year after inauguration.” He stressed the project’s “full readiness” to receive the expected number of visitors and meet their needs, provide parking slots and transportation necessary to ensure smooth and easy access to Al Montazah. “Al Montazah has the capacity to receive around 3 million visitors a year and we expect the number of visitors will increase considerably over the next few years.” Al Montazah boasts of three main sections, the first of which is the water park covering an area of 26,000 square metres, offering a wide range of aquatic amusement games that suit all ages. Safety services will be provided with safety and rescue staff permanently on hand. The water park includes wide green spaces for holiday makers to enjoy and relax. It will also boast restaurants and other facilities. The second section is a green park for picnics and events, spread over an area of 50,000 square metres. It will include wide green spaces and venues dedicated to hosting entertainment and social events, and a number of world-class restaurants, cafes, a lake for boating, and a mosque. The third section is a leisure park that also covers an area of 50,000 square metres, offering a variety of electronic games for all ages. The leisure park will also include kart racing (Karting) for children and young people, two mini football playgrounds, special areas for sports and a venue for celebrations. Al Sarkal noted that all service-related facilities will be available for visitors, including ATMs, parking lots, a medical clinic and highly qualified rescue teams and skilled paramedics. He urged investors, who will benefit from the expected tourism growth in Sharjah, to participate in the project by leasing spaces and areas dedicated to restaurants, cafes, and kiosks. Al Montazah will be open to the public from 10am to 11pm, from Saturday to Wednesday, and from 10am to 1am on Thursday and Friday. The water park will be open from 10am to 6pm. Entry tickets to the park will be Dh10, and free for children who are less than 80cm tall, while ticket prices for some games range between Dh10-25. The entry ticket to the water park is Dh120 for adults and Dh75 for children between 80-120cm tall, and entry is free for children under 80cm. Tickets for the water park includes the entry fee to Al Montazah Park. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
From one father of an ailing son to another
From one father of an ailing son to another Nivriti Butalia / 23 January 2014 Ali’s father gives the money he had after paying hospital bill to another needy father for treating his son. On Tuesday, Sayed Bawazeer’s three-month-old son Mohamad was released from ICU after spending three months at Al Baraha hospital. Sayed, whose salary is just Dh4,000, couldn’t pay the hospital bill of nearly Dh2,000,00, and he had to seek donations in order to get his son home. Readers came forward and the amount was secured. On Tuesday, the bill was finally paid. There was even some extra money. What Sayed decided to do with that money is a story and lesson in rare magnanimity – he gave the excess Dh30,000 to another needy father, Mohamed Altaf. By Wednesday afternoon, Sayed was on his way to visit Dubai Hospital where Altaf’s eight-year-old son, who is also named Ali, has been admitted in Dubai Hospital since August. Ali, ailing from bone marrow cancer has just had his 9 th round of Chemotherapy. Doctors want a bone marrow transplant to take place in February and Altaf is worried about the expense. Sayed visited Ali at 3.45pm on Wednesday. Ali’s father first refused the money, telling Sayeed that his son still had a hole in his heart, you will need this money for treatment. But Sayed stuck to his guns, spent time with Ali. “He’s such a sweet loving boy. We made a plan to eat pizza and home food once he’s out of hospital.” To read Ali’s full story, click here http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=nationhealth&xfile=data/nationhealth/2013/December/nationhealth_December23.xml For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Support Emiratis in repaying loans, UAE warns banks
Support Emiratis in repaying loans, UAE warns banks Nissar Hoath / 23 January 2014 Banks that do not support Emiratis to get their heavy debts cleared under a programme initiated by the President to be penalised. The Office of the Presidential Affairs on Wednesday warned that banks which fail to cooperate and help heavily indebted Emiratis will be penalised. “Those banks that do not support Emiratis to get their heavy debts cleared under a programme initiated by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in 2011 will also be penalised,” said Ahmed Jumma Al Za’abi, Deputy Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Fund for the Settlement of Bad Debts, at a Press conference after the opening of the fund headquarters in Al Jazira Club complex where Emiratis can visit and submit their applications for their bank debt waivers. Al Za’abi said so far the fund has helped 2,700 out of 6,000 applicants clearing debts of over Dh1.8 billion with the support of banks. “More than 50 per cent of the banks operating in the country have been very helpful and providing concession to help clear the loans of Emiratis under the fund programme. The other banks have been little helpful. However, if we don’t see any cooperation from these banks, action will be taken against them and (they will be) penalised,” he said without disclosing the names of the banks that did not take part in the initiative. He also said in case of non-cooperation, the names of the banks will be sent and published by the Central Bank, and there will be no cooperation and support from the government to these banks. Al Za’abi further added the fund has agreed to write off 50 per cent of the debtors’ loans, while the other half would be settled by the loans’ fund that would be reimbursed from the debtors through their salaries. He also said the fund was initiated by the President in 2011 with the allocation of Dh10 billion to help those Emiratis who were facing lawsuits or police cases related to their bank loans. To a question, Al Za’abi said the fund was established for the support of UAE citizens only and expatriates will not benefit from it. He also said under the fund programme, all criminal cases pending in connection with bounced security cheques and non-repayment of loans by Emiratis have been suspended and debts cleared. Al Za’abi, said most of the cases relate to, personal and car loans and loans sought for setting up small businesses. In March last year, the Shaikh Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development signed a joint deal with 34 defaulting Emiratis entrepreneurs to protect them from prosecution. The fund was established in 2007 with a Dh2 billion fund. nissar@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
