In need of some real spark

Many buildings have resorted to using electricity generators.

AJMAN // Several buildings in this northern emirate are completed but still empty, as landlords wait for electricity to be connected.

Many buildings also have resorted to using powered generators. And although the municipality has been strict about soundproofing enforcement, the generators create a great deal of noise pollution in popular areas such as al Nuaimiya, Karama, Sawan and Rashidiya.

Salty water is also a problem in the emirate.

An announcement yesterday by Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE, that the Northern Emirates would receive a Dh5.7 billion expansion of water and electricity infrastructure met with approval here.

"All that we need now is electricity," said Mohammed Hameed, who lives in a 13-storey tower powered by a generator in the Sawan area. "Generators are so noisy and can break up any time. For the salty water, we can bear it and buy some bottled water for tea, but the power problem is very serious."

Mohamad Saleh, the director general of the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) said officials there met yesterday morning and discussed a strategy to deliver power to most of the businesses in the northern Emirates this year.

He said Fewa officials had started receiving applications for tenders to construct 17 power stations at a cost of Dh980 million.

These stations are part of a development strategy to be achieved by 2020 and 2025.