Hatta's hydroelectric power plant is more than 58 per cent complete. Photo: Dewa
Hatta's hydroelectric power plant is more than 58 per cent complete. Photo: Dewa
Hatta's hydroelectric power plant is more than 58 per cent complete. Photo: Dewa
Hatta's hydroelectric power plant is more than 58 per cent complete. Photo: Dewa

Dubai's Hatta hydroelectric power plant nears 60% completion mark


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Construction of Hatta's hydroelectric power plant is 58.48 per cent complete, authorities announced on Monday.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) said construction of the 72m main Roller Compacted Concrete wall of the upper dam and the concrete lining of the water tunnel is complete.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of Dewa, visited the power plant site to check progress on the project.

He inspected the progress made on the water tunnel, which is 1.2km long and connects the two dams.

He also visited the power generators site and the upper dam.

The station will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts, a storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt hours and a lifespan of up to 80 years.

It will be the first of its kind in the GCC, built with an investment of Dh1.421 billion ($387 million). The project is planned for completion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The plant will help achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100 per cent of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

These include different technologies such as solar photovoltaic panels, concentrated solar power, and green hydrogen production using renewable energy.

The project will also support the plan to develop Hatta and meet its social, economic, developmental and environmental needs, as well as provide job opportunities for Emiratis in the area.

To function, water stored in the upper dam will flow through the underground tunnel, rotating turbines. The mechanical energy from the rotating turbines will then be converted into electrical energy and sent to the Dewa power grid.

To reuse the water, clean energy generated by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park will be used to pump it back through the tunnel and return it to the upper dam, making the project 100 per cent renewable.

The power plant's response time to heightened demand for energy is expected to be fewer than 90 seconds.

Dewa’s 250MW Hatta hydroelectric power plant — in pictures

  • Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) announced in December that the Hatta hydroelectric plant project is more than 58 per cent complete. All photos: Dewa
    Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) announced in December that the Hatta hydroelectric plant project is more than 58 per cent complete. All photos: Dewa
  • Hatta's hydroelectric power station at 58.48 per cent completion.
    Hatta's hydroelectric power station at 58.48 per cent completion.
  • The facility will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts and storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours.
    The facility will have a production capacity of 250 megawatts and storage capacity of 1,500 megawatt-hours.
  • The station will have a lifespan of up to 80 years.
    The station will have a lifespan of up to 80 years.
  • The hydroelectric power station being built by Dewa in Hatta is the first station of its kind in the GCC.
    The hydroelectric power station being built by Dewa in Hatta is the first station of its kind in the GCC.
  • The facility was visited by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority chief executive Saeed Al Tayer.
    The facility was visited by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority chief executive Saeed Al Tayer.
  • Investment in the project is about Dh1.421 billion.
    Investment in the project is about Dh1.421 billion.
  • Mr Al Tayer inspected the construction of the power generators and the upper dam during his visit in June.
    Mr Al Tayer inspected the construction of the power generators and the upper dam during his visit in June.
  • Mr Al Tayer also reviewed the work progress of the 1.2 kilometre subterranean tunnel which connects the two dams in June.
    Mr Al Tayer also reviewed the work progress of the 1.2 kilometre subterranean tunnel which connects the two dams in June.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

Champions parade (UAE timings)

7pm Gates open

8pm Deansgate stage showing starts

9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral

9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street

10pm City players on stage

11pm event ends

Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid 

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community

• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style

“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.

Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term. 

From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”

• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International

"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed.  Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."

• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org

"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."

• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com

"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.

His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.

Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."

• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher

"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen.  He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”

• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org

"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

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.
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Profile of VoucherSkout

Date of launch: November 2016

Founder: David Tobias

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers

Sector: Technology

Size: 18 employees

Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake

Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars” 

Updated: December 26, 2022, 8:20 AM