Construction has begun on the newly branded Meydan Avenue – previously known as Diamond Business Park – which sits in the shadows of The Meydan Hotel, Racecourse and Grandstand. Courtesy Meydan
Construction has begun on the newly branded Meydan Avenue – previously known as Diamond Business Park – which sits in the shadows of The Meydan Hotel, Racecourse and Grandstand. Courtesy Meydan

Meydan to build Emirates Airline pilots’ village



Meydan, the private developer behind the world’s largest horse racing complex, yesterday unveiled plans to build an airline pilots’ village as part of the second phase of the Dh21 billion Mohammed bin Rashid City megaproject in Dubai.

Mohammed bin Rashid City – District Eleven, a collection of 1,500 four-bedroom semi-detached villas spanning a total of 450,000 square metres, will be let to Emirates Airline pilots.

Separately Meydan will also build 700 four-bedroom villas for sale comprising another 210,000 square metres.

The project, next to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Al Ain Road, will also include a new private school, Kent College Canterbury – Meydan, a tie-up between Meydan and the Mir Hashem Khoory group.

The school will specialise in equestrian training and will eventually accommodate up to 2,000 students from year 1 to 12 based around the British curriculum, Meydan said.

The company declined to say how much the project would cost to build.

“District Eleven will become a sought-after suburban community in Dubai as we bring in outstanding education facilities, complemented by one-of-a-kind landscaping and green space,” said the Meydan chairman Saeed Humaid Al Tayer.

At last year's Cityscape, Meydan and the Indian developer Sobha announced that they would be building the first phase of Mohammed bin Rashid City – 1,500 luxury villas set in 1,100 acres of parkland around the world's biggest man-made lagoon – known as District One.

The Mohammed bin Rashid City project, located between Sheikh Zayed Road, Emirates Road and Al Khail Road, was announced in November 2012. At the time it was slated to comprise the world’s biggest shopping mall dubbed the Mall of the World and more than 100 hotels.

However, since then the task of building the Mall of the World has been passed to the government conglomerate Dubai Properties and located on land it owns off the Sheikh Zayed Road.

Speaking at a press conference at Cityscape yesterday, Khalfan Bel Houl, vice president for strategy at Dubai Holding, told reporters that the first phase of the Dh25bn Mall of the World will be complete three years from the moment construction work starts on the site.

However, he declined to give any details as to how the megaproject would be funded or what elements from the master plan would be included in the first phase.

He added that 180 million shoppers would visit the mall each year.

The MBR City project, which was announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in November, represents a revival of a similar Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens project, which was first announced in 2008 but never came off the drawing board because of the global financial crisis.

The 2008 master plan had suggested the Gardens project would cover 74 square kilometres and cost US$60bn.

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The specs

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Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

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German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
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Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Draw:

Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi

Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania

Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia

Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola

Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Tomato and walnut salad

A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.

Badrijani nigvzit

A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.

Pkhali

This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.

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.

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

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