The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City handed over 1,000 new houses to Emirati families on Sunday. This was under the Al Falah City Residential Project, Manager of Customer Services Mohammed Ali Almarr said on Monday. Although the municipality will continue to process claims in the coming days, the lion's share of handing over of keys took place not only on the first day, but within hours of opening, he said. "By 12pm-1pm, 75 per cent (of the recipients) had come. We have cut the process," he explained. To streamline the hand-over procedure, the municipality assigned 23 counters to serve claimants during the extended hours of 7am to 8pm at the Customer Service Common Center. By Monday, customers were few and far between. "Yesterday, they were looking for me, and now I am looking for them," he said with a smile. Al Falah City Residential Project is being carried out through a grant from the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and a directive from General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. It will provide Emirati families with 4,857 villas over an area covering 12.5 million square metres, located just east of Abu Dhabi International Airport. The recent giveaway took place under the project's first phase, and the remaining properties will likely be handed over by the end of the year, said Ali Almarr. The project intends to meet the needs of "different entitled community segments", according to a statement by the municipality. Acting Executive Director of Municipal Services Owaidah Al Qubaisi commented, "This grant illustrates the keen attention of our prudent leadership to ensure a decent and stable life for Emirati families who always remain the core of our attention... (it) is a continuation of the culture of giving generously advocated by His Highness (Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan), reflects a consolidation of the path charted by the late Shaikh Zayed (bin Sultan) Al Nahyan." The Al Falah residential initiative is not without precedent in the UAE, pointed out Almarr. "We have had many projects before, in Al Shamkha, Al Bahia and Al Shahama," he said, attributing the municipality's efficient handing over of properties to the UAE's long-standing practice of providing for its citizens. "It's not the first time -- we have been doing it from many years ago. We are the first country in the world to do this," he added. Khaleej Times
