The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation will build 16 new subsidised food centres for Emiratis.
The centres will be used to collect, store and distribute subsidised food items for Emiratis nationwide, said Mohammed Al Khouri, director general of the foundation, quoted in Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language language sister paper of The National.
The project is in its final design stage and was approved by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the foundation.
The foundation is expected to implement the project early next year, depending on whether lands allocated by various municipalities are ready.
The centres will be equipped with food safety and security technology, and are designed in a way to accommodate future expansion in quantity and variety of items. They will also provide employee accommodation, places for prayer, a rest stop for drivers and parking spaces for lorries.
In Fujairah, the main centre will be built in the city on an area of more than 5,000 square metres.
A total of 13,132 families benefit from the subsidised food distribution project in Fujairah and Kalba, Al Ittihad said.
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