Construction of the 600-unit Khan Younis housing scheme began in 2005 but ground to a halt two years ago due to the Israeli blockade. Courtesy of UNRWA
Construction of the 600-unit Khan Younis housing scheme began in 2005 but ground to a halt two years ago due to the Israeli blockade. Courtesy of UNRWA
Construction of the 600-unit Khan Younis housing scheme began in 2005 but ground to a halt two years ago due to the Israeli blockade. Courtesy of UNRWA
Construction of the 600-unit Khan Younis housing scheme began in 2005 but ground to a halt two years ago due to the Israeli blockade. Courtesy of UNRWA

Government

UAE-funded housing project in Gaza Strip to restart

Construction of the 600-unit Khan Younis housing scheme began in 2005 but ground to a halt two years ago due to the Israeli blockade.

Preeti Kannan

February 21, 2013

  • English
  • Arabic

DUBAI// Work will soon resume on a stalled UAE-funded housing project in the Gaza Strip.

Construction of the 600-unit Khan Younis housing scheme began in 2005 but ground to a halt two years ago due to the Israeli blockade. It is expected to restart in six weeks, a visiting UN official said.

"We have agreed to revive the project for Palestinian refugees," said Peter Ford, representative of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General.

"About 151 units are already completed. But work was cut short by the Israeli blockade, which prevented the bringing in of construction materials."

The Dh73.4 million Khan Younis scheme is a joint initiative by the UNRWA and UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA).

"The project was heavily interrupted by the war in Gaza and Israeli blockade," said Mr Ford. "We have just negotiated resumption of work for the remaining 449 houses. This entire project will make a difference to about 3,000 people when it is completed within 12 months, hopefully."

The two agencies yesterday also signed a deal to build schools in Palestine. The UNRWA proposed a plan to build eight schools costing a total of Dh58.8 million.

Ahmed Al Mazrouie, RCA chairman, said four schools would be built in the first phase. When ready, 1,000 pupils can be accommodated in each school.

Mr Ford said: "This will help relieve enormous overcrowding in schools in Gaza. The construction will start within a few weeks and will be built in nine months."

As well as seeking aid, Mr Ford used his three-day visit to the UAE to highlight the plight of Palestinian refugees caught up in the Syrian war.

He described the circumstances of Palestinians in Syria as a "tragedy within a tragedy" and urged the UAE to help with donations of cash and food.

"Half a million refugees are living in Syria. At least 400,000 of them are seriously affected and have had to flee refugee camps in the Damascus area. The Yarmouk camp is empty.

"Thousands of refugees are camping in schools in Damascus. People are not fully aware of the dimension of the tragedy. Palestinians fled their country and made a home in Syria. It's very difficult for them."

pkannan@thenational.ae

On Women's Day
The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The specs

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Power: 160hp

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How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

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The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

While you're here

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

While you're here
While you're here
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S

Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900

Engine: 937cc

Transmission: Six-speed gearbox

Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm

Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km

MWTC info

Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

T20 World Cup Qualifier

Final: Netherlands beat PNG by seven wickets

Qualified teams

1. Netherlands
2. PNG
3. Ireland
4. Namibia
5. Scotland
6. Oman

T20 World Cup 2020, Australia

Group A: Sri Lanka, PNG, Ireland, Oman
Group B: Bangladesh, Netherlands, Namibia, Scotland

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