(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) First it was the food outlets, then the groceries and now it is the turn of the hairdressing salons to get renovated and their premises expanded in the Capital.
According to hair salon owners, the new regulation applies to those renewing their licences. "Six months ago, our licence had expired and we went to renew it, but the authorities at the municipality advised us to first expand the shop's premises and then renovate it the way that matches the specifications," said an owner of a salon in Madinat Zayed, identifying himself as M.K.
He said earlier their shop was small and affordable with four barbers working at a time, "but now we have a huge place with the same number of hairdressers, each having their own separate corners. Our expenses have gone up because we had to rent an adjacent shop and added it to the old shop as a spacious place." He also said the renovation alone cost him more than Dh110,000 in addition to the rent of the adjacent shop.
When contacted, there was no response from the municipality about the new regulation. According to owners, those small shops can operate as long as their current lincences are valid but upon renewal, they have to follow the new design rule.
The owners of many small shops, most of them cramped, are worried about going for renewal of their licences as they cannot afford to rent another shop if available, and renovate it.
"We have a very small shop with four barbers working. The problem is there are no vacant shops on either sides of our outlet. In this case, we might be asked to drop two barbers to give more space and renovate it in accordance to the new specifications when we go for licence renewal," said Mohammed of a salon in Freij Sayegh near Hamdan Street.
However, most of the customers Khaleej Times spoke with were happy with the new change, saying the renovated outlets are luxurious, more pleasant to visit and very clean.
"The old small salons were very unhygienic with the floor carpet strewn with hair. I used to get allergic because of hair flying up from the floor. But now these new neat and clean salons are great. They are like five-star hotel salons - the workers are also clean and the instruments they use are sterilised every time a new customer comes. This is because municipality inspectors check them more frequently," said Ahmed Atta, a resident of Madinat Zayed.
According to sources, the modernisation of barber shops across the Capital city are being done to achieve the goals of Vision Abu Dhabi 2030.
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