Abu Dhabi: Abdul Rahman Saeed

Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, revealed a study on implementing projects to solve the problem of traffic congestion on federal roads between Dubai and the Northern Emirates, during the second half of 2024.

This came yesterday, Wednesday, during the third session of the Federal National Council, of the first regular session of the eighteenth legislative term, which was held under the chairmanship of Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Council, in Zayed Hall at the Council’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, in response to a question directed by Dr. Adnan Al Hammadi, a member. the Council.

Suhail Al Mazrouei said: The country is witnessing continuous development in transportation networks, especially roads, and the Ministry is coordinating with local municipalities to obtain approvals to enhance the main roads linking the Emirates. The Ministry has carried out studies and engineering solutions in coordination with the competent authorities to find integrated solutions, and a number of solutions have been agreed upon. Projects, and their implementation in the second half of this year.

He pointed out that there is an integrated center that monitors movement 24 hours a day to find out the reason for these crowds. We are working with the local emirate to determine the outlets from which these congestions come and to work on them, because this matter is within the jurisdiction of local governments, and within the scope of their work, and all relevant studies have been prepared, and in the second half we will witness the implementation of these projects, and we will study them in the coming years to evaluate and develop them.

Dr. Adnan Al-Hammadi commented: For 10 years, the Ministry has not provided radical solutions regarding these roads, and these roads are limited to three main streets, with a total of not more than 20 lanes, and are reduced at the entrances to the city of Dubai to reach ten lanes, and these streets receive 750,000 vehicles every sunrise. And in return, 800 thousand vehicles. There was no coordination with local authorities, and the Ministry did not exercise its real role to solve this problem, which has become a concern for many users of this road.

He discussed the cost of these congestions on the state’s economy, including working hours, fuel, the lack of ambulances and rescue services, and the failure of employees to attend work.

The Minister responded to the member’s proposal to establish a road, and we do not have any problem with studying this proposal, but every new road requires approval from the localities, because the road is not in a specific emirate, and the work is based on studies, and we also need time for these studies and coordination whether… There is a real need to build a road, increase lanes, or direct vehicles during peak hours to side roads, and we invite the brothers in the committee to visit the ministry to see the projects it is working on in this field.

The minister said: Congestion exists in all major countries of the world, and there are standards and criteria used by countries of the world and the Emirates in the road system, including the necessary time, which we evaluate in the world, and the Emirates roads rank in the top ten in the world, including the point that the member spoke about. There is ongoing development, and the Etihad Train will contribute significantly and reduce the congestion that large vehicles used to crowd on the road. It is expected that with the implementation of the law of axial weights, the burden will decrease, because these weights will go to the train, and there are peak hours, but not in a way that constitutes a crisis according to international standards.

The strategy

He pointed out that 46% of the water used daily comes from the ground in a country that suffers from low rainfall rates, which is very worrying, according to his description.

He added, in conjunction with the issuance of the national strategy in 2017, the state’s storage capacity was one billion and 800 million gallons, and now it has almost increased by 40%, reaching 2.9 billion gallons.

He said that one of the most important topics that affects us all is water security in the UAE, and water challenges are among the challenges facing every country, and facing humanity. Legislation in each country is divided into two types regarding groundwater, which is a local matter. In the Ministry, we sought to have a legislative role regarding this issue, but we did not obtain this role, which is to be the legislator regarding groundwater, which is Local authorities consider it within their jurisdiction. The second part relates to produced water, which is desalinated water, which is legislated locally in some emirates because they have companies that produce and distribute. We also have “Al-Ittihad Company” in the Northern Emirates, and it has a major role in distributing water to the emirates in which it operates, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman.

He added that issuing a law on groundwater falls within the scope of local legislation, and the ministry has not lost hope that it will work on a national project regarding groundwater conservation. The groundwater being depleted exceeds what is produced. As for the desalinated water sector, according to the Water Security Strategy for 2036, it includes a number of initiatives and legislation that the Ministry has worked on with the localities. Work on them is based on all axes and the numbers indicate a noticeable development in the projects being worked on.

He said: Regarding the connection between water networks in agencies operating in the country, storage hours increased by 40%, and the target of reducing individual and building water use was raised from 40% to 50%, and we were able to convince everyone to establish a federal regulator for the electricity and water sector, which includes: It plays a regulatory role in organizing the work of the Union Electricity and Water Company and coordinates with local legislators for the rest of the emirates of the country, which is to achieve a reduction of up to 50% of water consumption during the coming years and the time target.

He added that connectivity was one of the main points, and we are looking at all the emirates, and networks and storage points must be shared and continuous. There is a water connection network consisting of 13 points, which is in place and operating. The daily exchange of water and the use of existing storage are carried out by these companies. An increase in six basic connection points has been approved, three of which have been completed. We support the committee’s proposal to develop strategies in partnership with the localities. We will work and submit this recommendation to the Council of Ministers, and, God willing, work will begin on this committee. The largest drainer of water is the agricultural sector, and we must work with a view that affects the sector and what it poses to citizens, especially those with limited income. The Ministry stresses the necessity of working on this issue, and we worked in coordination with water and electricity authorities and companies.

Rain harvest

He discussed the rain and surface water harvesting programme, and said: We have 150 dams with a capacity of 130 million cubic metres, and this number is large if it were used as storage. A hydrological map was launched, which is the first map in the country, and it is a digital water database. We work with research centers in universities, and we support The committee recommended forming a national team to reduce the use of groundwater, and the strategy was built on the basis of integrated resources for water resources. The UAE obtained 79%, which is one of the highest indicators in the region, issued by the United Nations and the ESCWA programme. 46% of the water in the country comes from the ground. He added that the percentage of wastage in the UAE ranges from 10 to 11%, and in the Emirate of Dubai it reached less than 5%, and the average loss globally reaches 30%. He stressed that the water networks are advanced, and there are bodies working to change the water networks, and a program has been developed to reduce water consumption in government buildings, and reduce consumption in the agricultural sector, reaching from 2 to 3%, and now we are studying 420 federal buildings.

He said that the UAE is a global leader in terms of network losses. Smart and modern systems are used, and there is a plan developed by Al-Ittihad Company to reduce waste by replacing old networks, and we will supervise it and submit reports to the Council of Ministers on these modern global standards, which the ministry will adopt, implement, and adhere to.

He continued: The ministry’s role is coordination, and our ambition is more, and on the issue of water, especially groundwater, we agree with the committee’s recommendation to form a national committee to look into this issue with the localities, and the problem with reducing consumption is the cheap price of water, and the Emirates is one of the countries in which water is heavily subsidized. This is an issue that affects a large segment of people, and there must be certain budgets. It will be proposed to the Council of Ministers to form a national committee to study this issue. We worked with the Ministry of Education to develop a vision for the green general curriculum, which was launched last year and will be applied to first year students. Sustainability was taken into account in all modern government buildings, and even the returned water was reclaimed and used for agriculture on the same land as the building.

He explained that the Council of Ministers gave the ministry the status of a federal regulator at the end of 2023 AD, and the average loss at the global level is more than 30% globally, and the UAE is 10%, and there are three groups in the global classifications, and there is a country that has a large loss that is considered backward and exceeds 30%. Al-Ittihad Company now has a lower percentage of wastage, and the plan is in place, and they are implementing it, and now we are working and will ensure that everyone reaches the target of less than 10%, and we are working with the concerned authorities by virtue of the new assignment as a federal regulator for the electricity and water sector, and this assignment will enable us to set targets. However, the country’s average is satisfactory and good, and our bodies’ future plans are coordinated, and the first to be affected by losses are the companies, which are very keen to reduce losses.

Research centers

He said: We welcome all academics and research centers, but we cannot refuse anything. We will communicate with them to provide support, and we support those who aspire to prepare research, and we are ready to cooperate with them. There are those who request funded research, and here lies the problem, and we provide information to whoever requests it.

He pointed out that the scope of the ministry’s work is within the country, and it is not among its powers to import, which is outside the scope of its work, but the cheapest way in the world to obtain water is desalination, which is found in the Gulf countries, and the UAE in desalinating water is one of the cheapest countries in the world, and when compared with… Any source of bringing water will be expensive, adding that the idea of ​​dams is excellent, and we have conducted studies on seven dams, and if the budgets are available, they can be converted into reservoirs, and work is underway to prepare studies for this subject, and the main challenge in using the dam’s lakes and converting them into reservoirs is that they are in high demand. Water, but from a tourism perspective, has an excellent return, and this is within the scope of the work of the local emirate.

He said: We set a target for water consumption, and we achieved the best in homes, and in the Emirates that Al-Ittihad Company serves, consumption is the lowest in the country, and this came from consumer awareness, and this issue must continue, and the most important file in the ministry is water security, and the main point that we must focus on. It is groundwater, pointing out the launch of the first map of all regions and cloud gathering areas, and we are cooperating with the Meteorological Center concerned with cloud seeding and encouraging research in this field. He added that there is an experiment in the city of Abu Dhabi using desalinated water in the groundwater pollination process, but what is being depleted on farms is not enough, especially since 46% of the water used comes from groundwater.

422 federal government buildings that drain the most water

Suhail Al Mazrouei said that 422 federal government buildings, including schools, hospitals, and other entities, were monitored, which are considered the most depleting and consuming of water in the emirates of the country, and the Ministry is currently working with the relevant authorities to aim to reduce the water consumption of these entities by 25%. He added, “The Ministry has not lost hope in working on a national, federal project to maintain groundwater levels, especially since the depleted quantities of this water are very frightening.”

12 recommendations on water security

The Federal National Council adopted 12 recommendations during the discussion of the topic of government policy regarding water security, in which it stressed the importance of coordination between all concerned parties to issue binding unified policies, frameworks and standards that regulate water consumption in all sectors, to ensure effective management of water resources in the country, and to preserve the strategic reserve. Groundwater and water sustainability.

The recommendations stressed the importance of working to achieve the state’s commitments with regard to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), by encouraging and stimulating international standards for the application of sustainability and green building standards, accelerating the implementation of the unified water connection project for the state, adopting and applying international best practices, and benefiting from Some successful local experiences, such as the Emirate of Dubai, in relying on the latest smart systems to reduce losses in the water network, intensifying awareness and rationalization campaigns for all groups, including citizens and residents, in several languages, and using advanced technologies and innovation in water rationalization, ensuring a reduction in average water consumption in the country. And cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Education in adopting innovative initiatives concerned with rationalizing consumption and achieving sustainable water security, and activating the role of the media, and in coordination with media institutions, federal and local, at all levels through social media sites, regarding rationalization of water consumption.

The Council called for the necessity of accelerating the completion of the project that aims to unify the necessary standards for returned water, circulate them to desalination plants, and develop programs to reduce the cost of production and reduce energy consumption in water production, distribution, and use in a way that contributes to limiting and minimizing gaseous emissions.

The Council’s recommendations, which it decided to return to the Health and Environmental Affairs Committee to be reformulated in accordance with yesterday’s discussions, addressed the subject’s axes, which are: the unified water connection of the state, losses in water networks, education and awareness programs, water returned from desalination plants, the Water Research Center, and strategic water storage. .

The Council reviewed two draft federal laws received from the government that were referred to the relevant committee, which are: a draft federal law regarding the General Authority for Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat, and a draft federal law regarding the Emirates Council for Sharia Fatwa.