(MENAFN - Emirates News Agency (WAM)) The Abu Dhabi Executive Council (ADEC)approved today a raft of development projects and plans on diverse sectors as housing, food, environment, infrastructure, roads, transport, health, and nuclear energy, as part of its consistent efforts to improve public services in the emirate.
Chaired by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the ADEC meeting reviewed criteria and measures regarding loans of citizens' houses, details of new eligible batches of beneficiaries and improvement of work mechanisms.
The council gave it nod for a number of residential and commercial infrastructure projects in Mohammed bin Zayed City at a budget of AED 257 million. These projects cover internal road network and its associated infrastructure from road lighting, storm drainage and sewerage systems and water network to telecommunications services and parking facilities. Spanning 50 million square metres, the Mohammed bin Zayed City has 48 residential sectors and 7 public sectors. It boasts a network stretching 373 kilometres serving 5275 residential building and 1507 commercial properties.
These projects fall within the framework of ADEC's plans to establish infrastructure at par with the best international standards across the emirate.
The council also approved awarding of contracts for construction and maintenance of the new 50-bed Gayathi hospital at AED 445 million and the new 36-bed Sila' hospital at AED 239 million. The two hospitals will replace the existing health facilities with addition of more specialist medical services to provide healthcare required for the local community of the region.
In a previous meeting, the council gave its green light to the two health projects as part of the Abu Dhabi government's commitment to deliver high quality, world class healthcare services that cater to demands of both the individual and community. The region has five public hospitals.
The council also gave its consent to the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) to import additional 500,000 tonnes of fodder as part of animal feed subsidy programme which aims at securing food and conserving environmental resources in the emirate. ADFCA's mechanism for distributing fodder to livestock breeders was examined during the meting.
The fodder programme saves more than 86 billion gallons of water a year through delivery of high-value nutritional fodder to the livestock.
It also sustains the water reserves by reducing water consumption.
After discussing an offer from the Abu Dhabi Airports Company for building a new passenger terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport, the council approved the award of the project tender to a general contractor to execute the project.
The council reviewed a plan for commissioning nuclear power plants, the first of which is expected to start operating in 2017, to satisfy power demands for the growth and prosperity through an environmentally-friendly, cost-effective peaceful nuclear power programme with high safety and reliability. The programme will develop energy sources that provide solutions to the increasing demand for electricity through forging strategic partnerships with local and international companies to stimulate growth of the nuclear power industry. Academic partnership will also be built to develop capacities of national human resources in this sector.
In 2009, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) awarded the prime contract to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to design, build, and operate the nuclear power plants in the UAE.
