Support sought for Blue Communities

Nakheel expects global firms to start contributing to the fund created for its Blue Communities initiative by year-end, a top company official said yesterday. "We will not be raising any further funds for the programme, however, we do expect other companies to come forward and contribute to the initiative further. It is still premature for me to state anything. Currently, we are operating with a fund with the value of Dh500 million," Abdulrahman Kalantar, Managing Director of Design & Development at Nakheel, told Emirates Business . "At this moment we, Nakheel, are the owners of this initiative but we think the 'Blue Communities' programme was born to be global. We need other global organisations to drive the change around the world. "At this point of time we have an action plan going and believe a chunk of the fund money will be invested in Research and Development. Another chunk will be invested into human resources and getting the experts into Dubai for the programme," he added. Earlier, Nakheel signed the first agreement for Blue Communities with Gold Coast City Council to promote coastal development in Dubai. The council will bring specific expertise to the Blue Communities initiative in the area of sand movement and beach management strategy and policies. "This is the first proposal we are signing under the umbrella of the Blue Communities programme and there is no financial agreement on this," said Kalantar. "The agreement is a statement of intent. We are very sure that we don't want this to be just another agreement," said Dale Dickson, Chief Executive of Gold Coast City Council. "Two important features that we will contribute to the Blue Communities programme will be sustainable development and sustainable communities ensuring that people living in coastal areas have a real sense of community feel, feeling safe and being able to interact with other people. "The biggest challenge is how to maintain a development after it is completed. Facilities management is an issue for Dubai and ensuring to establish a high level of environmental performance. We will focus on urban water management and water conservation, which is very important," Dickson added. Dr Rula Sadik, Director Design & Planning at Nakheel, said the Blue Communities initiative thrives to integrate the whole thinking of environment and social sustainability into the early design process. "This initiative is not just be about buildings and their designs, but also about looking at the whole spectrum of design from a broader perspective," she said. The fund Blue Communities was launched under the direction of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai in January 2008. Nakheel has committed Dh500 million over the next five years to Blue Communities to fund research and development activity and promote active engagement with international experts on the issues of sustainable development, construction, management and governance of coastal communities around the globe. Earlier this year, the company engaged Dr Farouk El-Baz, the renowned scientist, as an adviser for Blue Communities.