DUBAI // The sewage leaks that have regularly plagued residents of International City should become a thing of the past when work to double the size of the development's waste treatment plant is completed in the next few days.
Nakheel, the master developer of the community, which is home to 60,000 residents, has promised that the situation should improve when the expanded treatment facility at the edge of the England and Russia clusters was completed by the end of the week.
Metito, a waste water management company, was appointed in May to double the plant's capacity from 5,000 cubic metres a day.
A spokesman for Nakheel said: "I think the work on the sewage treatment plant will have a great effect, and should be able to cope with the demands of the growing population in International City."
This will be welcome news to residents of the Russia cluster, who have had to endure sewage floods during the past fortnight. Roads, pavements and a car park were completely submerged earlier in the week as litres of sewage water bubbled up through drains.
The waste crept to within a few feet of the entrances of some homes in the neighbouring England cluster, while motorists had to drive through large pools of sewage.
The situation had improved by yesterday, when Nakheel employed a specialised team to pump out the sewage and clean up. The pools of water had largely subsided, leaving green slime on roads and in the car park, and a faint smell of sewage in the air. Residents said the situation had been unbearable as the sun beat down on the stagnant pools, attracting swarms of flies.
Laura Carr, from Britain, lives in the China cluster of International City, but still had to travel through the sewage while commuting to and from her office in Bur Dubai.
"The smell is so overpowering it actually makes you retch," she said. "I have to turn of the air vent in my car. I would expect something like this to happen in an older part of town, where the systems weren't built to cope with many people. But International City isn't even a couple of years old. It's ridiculous.
"I know renting here is a bit cheaper than other parts of the city, but not cheap enough to be expected to drive through sewage in the morning," she said.
Husain, an Indian who did not want to give his last name, said he was worried about the health implications of sewage being left on the street for two weeks.
"You hear about all sorts of health problems associated with something like this; it is the origin of many airborne diseases," he said. "I hope that this doesn't happen again: my contract is up for renewal soon and, although I really like it here, if this happens again, it might make me think twice about staying here."
Two weeks ago, several large pools of sewage formed after drains overflowed on the main road near the Italy and Spain clusters. Pools have been forming intermittently since a larger spill in May.
The population of International City is expected to reach between 100,000 and 150,000.
* The National
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
No_One Ever Really Dies
N*E*R*D
(I Am Other/Columbia)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
