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Garages move out of Abu Dhabi
car dealers
Nearly 1,000 garages and other workshops have completed their shift from Abu Dhabi city to the nearby Musaffah industrial area as part of a government decision intended to organise such businesses and improve the aesthetic image of the capital.
In a statement carried by the semi-official daily Alittihad on Monday, the Abu Dhabi Municipality said all those businesses have moved out to designated areas in Musaffah, around 25 km from the capital of more than one million people.
The decision was issued in 2010 and a deadline was extended many times to give those shops enough time to dismantle their business in the city and shift to the new location. Only used car shops were asked to shift to a new location in Shamkha, more than 50 km east of Abu Dhabi.
The decision is part of an overall plan to develop the emirate, dubbed Vision 30, as it involves improvement of services and expansion of residential areas to cope with a projected increase in the population to nearly three million in 2030.
The new rules affect garages, building materials shops, carpentries, equipment maintenance and repair services, glass and aluminum manufacturing, and other workshops.
“This is part of an overall plan to improve the image of Abu Dhabi city, ensure a healthy environment, ease bottlenecks and upgrade services of those workshops,” the statement said.
The decision also includes car servicing and washing facilities but excludes car trading agencies and all vehicle service units owned by the government-controlled Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).