DUBAI // As a young boy Essa Al Maidoor loved solving puzzles, finding an answer for every question and looking for a solution in every problem.
It was a passion that would lead him to carve out a series of meteoric successes, first in civil engineering, then as the figurehead for Dubai’s 2020 masterplan and finally as the head of Dubai Health Authority.
“It was my love to solve all the questions in the book,” he said. “I do not like to sit and write essays. Give me a problem and I will solve it.
“I think from Grade 4 I was doing so well in mathematics that I was interested in being an engineer. That was what inspired me to move in the direction of the engineering field.”
By Grade 8 he was also excelling in science, and when it came time to make the decision on a major after high school, Mr Al Maidoor chose civil engineering. He opted to study in Utah, a place he still calls his second home.
Returning to Dubai in 1985 at age 24 he joined Dubai Municipality as a site engineer. Working in the drainage and irrigation department, it was Mr Al Maidoor’s responsibility to run an emergency committee to reduce the risk of floods when it rained.
The next 15 years he had brief spells in other jobs at the municipality before becoming deputy director general, where his final role was overseeing the 2020 Urban Master Plan.
He had a passion to conserve and protect Dubai’s natural rugged beauty, and set up plans to create a desert belt around the city to prevent property developers building in a protected zone.
“These are the historical values we try and keep for future generations,” said Mr Al Maidoor, who said when he was growing up he lived a very simple life, just 50 metres from Jumeirah Beach.
When he was heading the 2020 plan, Mr Al Maidoor was asked to take the top spot at Dubai Health Authority, a move he questioned.
“I was not looking at health as my destination,” he said. “I was asked – they said there is a new responsibility. I said ‘Why me in public health?’ I asked that question because, really, I do not want to come to a place where I feel like I can not do something.
“They said ‘Look, your background as an engineer and the career you have had and the achievements that you have done. We think you can do something of value to the health sector’.”
Mr Al Maidoor said he felt out of his depth in the first few weeks.
“It was like somebody had just thrown me into the ocean. ‘Where is the beach?’ ‘Just swim’. ‘Which direction?’ ‘Just swim’,” he said, laughing.
Instead, he began to look at the job as just another puzzle.
“I started analysing – what are the components of the health service?” he said. “Then I tried to find my way through that.”
Within two months he had dreamed up and outlined a masterplan to shape the emirate’s healthcare system until 2025.
“This put a clear vision for health; what do we need, where have we been, where are we going,” he said.
The first six months was a whirlwind, he said.
“For six months I did not have any weekend. I was working 24/7, I think. Maybe I am crazy but ...
“To be able to achieve something you have to have planned results and I think I am a result-orientated person.”
Having spent a little more than a year in the role now, Mr Al Maidoor has already left his mark on the heath sector in the emirate, having paved the way for new hospitals, more primary health-care centres, better services for the elderly and, perhaps most significantly, delivering the long-awaited health insurance-for-all scheme that had been long promised.
His next passion is to see Dubai become a flagship destination for tourism and health care.
“I think I am in a hurry to see the results of the new hospitals we are going to build,” he said. “People deserve to have the best health and the best services.
“I am keen to see all these projects coming up and to see Dubai as one of the world-recognised health hubs which can help all those people in need.”
The secret to his success, he said, is finding fun in what you do.
“I try to always enjoy what I do. And maybe one secret people do not know about me is that I love sport. And my sport de-stresses me.”
Mr Al Maidoor is a black-belt karate champion and a keen swimmer.
It is important, he said, to work hard and reap the rewards.
“I have done everything myself and I think that is very important. That capability is in each of us. You cannot live in the shade of others and I like challenges.”
Just like another puzzle.
jbell@thenational.ae
Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
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FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SCHEDULE
Thursday, December 6
08.00-15.00 Technical scrutineering
15.00-17.00 Extra free practice
Friday, December 7
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 1
15.30 BRM F1 qualifying
Saturday, December 8
09.10-09.30 F4 free practice
09.40-10.00 F4 time trials
10.15-11.15 F1 free practice
14.00 F4 race 2
15.30 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
Karl Malone 36,928
Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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- Jack the Ripper
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Sunday's games
All times UAE:
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm
Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm
Everton v Watford, 8.30pm
Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm
Dubai World Cup Carnival Card:
6.30pm: Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
7.40pm: Zabeel Turf Listed $175,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Cape Verdi Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,600m
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
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• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
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