UAE to build Khalifa City in Banda Aceh
Friday, October 21, 2011
Banda Aceh - The UAE government will start construction of houses for tsunami survivors in the village of Lampaseh Aceh, in the sub district of Meuraxa, in Banda Aceh, an Indonesian tsunami relief portal, Indonesia relief, reported yesterday.
An official from the UAE embassy in Indonesia, announced the plan for the building of the project officially named 'Khalifa City' after a meeting with the mayor of Banda Aceh, Mawardy Nurdin.
The meeting which was held on Monday at the Banda Aceh mayor's office, was also attended by the head of Banda Aceh development planning board Zahrudddin and the head of Lampaseh village Syahrul Nagor.
'Construction of the Khalifa City could be started as it has already received full authorization from UAE ambassador Yusuf Al Sharhan,' said the official.
Mawardy praised the UAE for its commitment to help rebuild Banda Aceh city. He said the people were happy with the UAE assistance to help rebuild their houses. The mayor lamented that unlike the UAE many Ngos failed to live up to their promises. 'So far they only build sample houses in Banda Aceh,' Mawardy said.
The Khalifa City housing complex, which will consist of 700 housing units, is part of humanitarian programme, which also includes 25 general medical clinics and 25 child and mother care clinics, in addition to the building of five orphanages and the renovation of 20 mosques, to be undertaken in Indonesia by the UAE through the UAE Red Crescent Society, RCS. The housing project will cost a total amount of US$2.3 million.
In February this year, the chairman of the Indonesian Red Crescent Society, Muraei Mohammed, visited the UAE RCS premises where he was received by RCS board chairman, Khalifa Nasser Al Suwaidi. His visit was followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding, MoU, in March between the UAE RCS and UNICEF in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the construction of 25 mother and child care centres in the Nangro Aceh Darussalam province of Indonesia.
The UAE ambassador to Indonesia was later received in May by the Indonesian vice president, Yusuf Kalla, during which their talks centred on a number of humanitarian projects to be embarked upon by the RCS, including the construction of the Sheikh Khalifa city housing complex.