AJMAN // Unpaved, pot-holed and poorly maintained roads in Ajman are to have a Dh70 million upgrade.
The work will concentrate on Al Nuaimia, where drivers complain the roads are so bad their cars are being damaged.
“This project is going to develop three internal roads, which are Kuwait Street, College Street and Ajman Ring Street, with a length about 7km in Al Nuaimia. It includes expanding and re-paving streets, providing them with a network of rainwater drainage and organising parking and sidewalks,” according to a report by Ajman Municipality.
Drivers say the upgrade is badly needed. “The streets of some areas like Al Rawda, Al Hamidiya and Al Nuaimia are neglected. In Al Nuaimia you can’t drive at more than 50kph,” said Ahmad Al Akhras, a mechanical engineering student at American University of Sharjah.
“Three days ago I changed the engine mounts and the gears of my car because they were damaged by the roads. It cost me about Dh4,000.”
Mohammed Ismail, 25, a Palestinian civil engineer, lived in Al Nuaimia for 12 years but moved because of the condition of the roads, particularly around residential buildings.
“Four years ago the oil pipeline was cut from the underside of my car because of this problem. It cost me about Dh1,500 to fix.”
Mr Ismail said money being spent by the municipality and the federal Government on main roads leading to Ajman would be better spent on repairing internal roads.
“From when I first lived there until now, the streets of the area are still the same, so the Government has to repair them, especially the internal roads.”
However, not everyone has an issue with the condition of the roads and some claim the uneven surfaces are a problem only if you don’t know how to drive on them.
“The government is fixing the damaged roads step by step and I personally don’t face any problem,” said Yousef Sehwail, 26, a Jordanian expatriate who has lived in Ajman for 15 years.
“When I compare the roads of Ajman with Sharjah, I find that Ajman is better because it has no roundabouts and traffic signals that lead to traffic jams.
“I adapted to the roads. The residents who have lived here for years know how to handle the car, but visitors are not used to driving on these streets so you find they drive very slowly.
“In general, the broken roads are not comfortable, but they don’t badly affect the car if the driver drives slowly and carefully.”
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