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28 March 2024

Major revamp of Dubai's Al Nahda community this year

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

Residents of Al Nahda Dubai have long complained of poor infrastructure facilitities in the area. However, a major revamp of the community is expected to solve all these problems and upgrade the living experience in the populous neighbourhood.

Al Nahda was carved out of Al Qusais Industrial area, aimed to become a bustling residential community just a 10 minutes drive from the centre of Dubai. As it appreared, it quickly gained preference over bordering communities in Sharjah. According to the Dubai Statistics Center (DSC), Al Nadha 1 housed 11,250 residents in 2012, while Al Nahda 2 counted 18,234 residents.

However, as the area was filled with more residents the roads started to look smaller, parking facilities fewer, and travel time longer and longer. When rents started to rise, residents started to wonder if they should maybe not have moved to Al Nahda at all.

This year, major improvements are expected to be carried out in Al Nahda 1, the least developed community of the two counterparts.  More roads, better roads, and more parking are among the promises on the list for the community.

The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has listed Al Nahda 1 as one of the communities where internal infrastructure requires upgrading. The project is set to commence in the last quarter of 2014. In a statement to Emirates 24|7, Maitha bin Adai, CEO of the Traffic and Roads Agency (TRA) said:

“The project consists of constructing around 20km length of road network and improving of the existing roads at Al Mamzar and Al Nahda 1. The proposed roads are either dual carriageway collectors, or local streets single carriageway.”

The road improvements should come as a blessing to residents, as current roads are often described as poorly maintained. Syed Mazhar, who has been living in the community since 2004 commented: “Residents and visitors to the area are faced with dirt roads that are poorly set up. The roads are under construction but not well maintained, which at times can be dangerous.”

Syed describes the community as a place which has seen great development over the years, but with little attention to the development of the road infrastructure. “Massive developments have made the city look glamorous, but in many parts we have to drive on bumpy roads which are creating a lot of inconvenience for motorists.”

Most important, however is the lack of street lights in the area, he adds. “The only lights that are visible are the headlights of the cars. This is very unsafe, especially for pedestrians who have a tough time walking on the edge of the road trying to hail a cab or public transport.”

According to Al Adai, street lighting, pavement signage and roadway signage will be see improvement too as they form part of the project. Furthermore, approximately 30 off-street parking areas are under design for the community, she added.