The white lights are the new LEDS, with the older yellow lights on the right in this shot of Abu Dhabi's Salam Street. Abu Dhabi Municipality
The white lights are the new LEDS, with the older yellow lights on the right in this shot of Abu Dhabi's Salam Street. Abu Dhabi Municipality
The white lights are the new LEDS, with the older yellow lights on the right in this shot of Abu Dhabi's Salam Street. Abu Dhabi Municipality
The white lights are the new LEDS, with the older yellow lights on the right in this shot of Abu Dhabi's Salam Street. Abu Dhabi Municipality

The big switch: Abu Dhabi's plan to convert old lights to LEDs


John Dennehy
  • English
  • Arabic

If you live in Mushrif or the Capital Centre, then you could be among the first to have your old streetlamps replaced with LEDs.

Abu Dhabi Municipality last month announced ambitious plans to replace 42,632 older, inefficient lighting fixtures across the island. It is one of the largest projects of its kind in the world.

The older lights are mainly high pressure sodium or metal halide. They give off a familiar orange glow, but are also notoriously inefficient.

The new LEDs, or luminaires, will be up to 90 per cent more efficient; cost 90 per cent less to maintain; and also will lead to an 80 per cent reduction in harmful CO2 emissions. The quality of light and the fact it is more even will make it better for drivers and pedestrians.

“Electricity bills were so high with all the old lights,” said Eiman Alameri, from the municipal infrastructure and assets sector at Abu Dhabi Municipality.

“They really consume a lot of energy – and Abu Dhabi wants everything to be more sustainable,” she said.

Ramon Peñas / The National
Ramon Peñas / The National

The retrofit is set to start early next year once the tendering process is completed. Work will be undertaken in five phases across the island and each phase is expected to take three months. The island is set to be finished by the middle of 2019. Poles or foundations will not have to be touched and only the lighting fixture will have to be replaced.

Newer projects on the island such as on Salam Street and on Yas Island for example already use LEDs and the new fixtures are expected to last for about 12 and a half years compared with two to three years for the older lights.

“The project is one of the biggest of its type in the world,” said Martin Valentine, lighting expert at the municipality.

Mr Valentine said the Abu Dhabi plan is way ahead of other global retrofits when it comes to the quality of light. “It’s not just about changing to save energy. We’re [also] improving the lighting on the roads. We’re reducing the pollution,” he said.

Traditional street lights, known for their yellowish hue, will be relaunched with bright white LED lights across Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Municipality
Traditional street lights, known for their yellowish hue, will be relaunched with bright white LED lights across Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Municipality

“A lot of other plans around the world are done purely on energy saving. They forget about the colour being too blue or light spilling into people’s houses. We are way ahead.”

The initiative is also a public-private partnership. This is a relatively new phenomenon for the UAE but it is expected to become more widespread. Design, installation and maintenance will be taken care of by a private firm for a contract of about ten years. Then it's handed back to the municipality.

“We want the private sector to be involved with the urban development of Abu Dhabi. We don’t want to have all the budgets coming from the government,” said Ms Alameri.

While it is a public-private partnership, the municipality will retain control of the system. The retrofit includes the addition of a smart control system and it will yield consumption reports; identify failures; and allow lights to be dimmed at certain hours which will lead to even more savings. “These can be dimmed at times when traffic is quiet, after rush hour and between 1am and 5am,” said Mr Valentine.

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It is thought that there are 290,000 of the older lights still in use across the emirate. When the island retrofit is completed, it is believed that other areas of the emirate will be next.

Local authorities around the word have been looking at introducing LEDs to cut costs. In some cities, such as Rome, residents have complained that harsh white light emanating from these new LEDs has distorted the ambience of the city. But for Mr Valentine, crude implementation is to blame. There are nine colour temperature options when it comes to LEDs, and these range from warmer yellow light to a harsh blue light.

“You have to look at colour temperature. A historic city centre and a main road are completely different things. We encourage warmer colours for the streets,” said Mr Valentine.

“We are not going too cold on the colour temperatures as some cities have and they’ve done that to save money. We banned the cold blue white colours from Abu Dhabi. We’ve got a neutral white colour which is the most efficient warm colour.

"Maybe a lot of cities haven’t thought about the social and environmental aspects as well as the economic. It’s important all three are looked at in every design.”

Points to remember
  • Debate the issue, don't attack the person
  • Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
  • Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
  • Listen actively without interrupting
  • Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

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.
Bio

Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro

Where to apply

Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020

Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.

The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020. 

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

'Peninsula'

Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra

Director: ​Yeon Sang-ho

Rating: 2/5

MATCH INFO

Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go

Flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.

The stay

Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

The Facility’s Versatility

Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
 
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
 
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
 
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
 
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
 
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement. 

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.