Abu Dhabi firms in deal to build community amenities

Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) has signed an agreement with the UAE’s leading property developers to establish new community amenities such as mosques, public parks, walkways, playgrounds and sports facilities throughout Abu Dhabi, as well as honour UAE’s Martyrs. The UPC move comes as part of its commitment to a major community initiative for Year of Giving 2017, said a senior officials after signing a service level agreement during a ceremony held on the second day of Cityscape Abu Dhabi, thus officially launching its ‘CSR Year of Giving Initiative’. As per the deal, nine Abu Dhabi real estate developers will contribute a collective total of Dh323 million ($88 million) in building amenities to benefit Abu Dhabi communities and a dedicated team will manage all of the contributions and decide the location of future projects as well as costs. The companies including Aldar Properties, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), Miral Asset Management, National Investment Corporation, Al Qudra Holding, Bloom Holding, Tamouh, Manazel Real Estate, Lead Development and Project Management Consultants will target areas of Abu Dhabi that currently lack community facilities, as well as launch fundraising events to support the provision for them. UPC director general Falah Al Ahbabi said: "We are really proud to see the private sector actively involved in this initiative, and supporting us to work together towards building new sustainable communities that meet the expectations of our society and raise their living standards." "I am delighted with the amount of contributions made by the developers. The amount was more than I ever expected. This will help us in our joint efforts to build new social amenities, dedicated to our community," he added. The official signing ceremony followed a brainstorming workshop held on April 10, in which the UPC discussed how the private sector can contribute to Abu Dhabi’s urban development and support the objectives of the ‘CSR Year of Giving Initiative’. The campaign is the UPC’s principal CSR initiative this year and fulfills one of the key objectives of Year of Giving 2017, namely to offer private sector businesses the chance to help residents through sponsorship programmes, constructing community facilities, across Abu Dhabi. Maryam Mohammed Al Rumaithi, the director general of the Family Development Foundation and Abu Dhabi Representative in the central coordination of the Year of Giving Committee, said: "I am pleased to extend my gratitude to the UPC for its efforts in bringing this initiative to fruition through different projects and impressive contributions." "The active involvement of the Abu Dhabi private sector for this initiative confirms its strong belief in the importance of social responsibility - one of the major cornerstones of this initiative announced earlier this year," stated Al Rumaithi. "The initiative aims to instill the value of serving our nation and encourage people to do more in helping the community,"