GCCs First Dedicated Occupational Healthcare Facility Opens In Dubai

Dr. Ahmed AL Hashimi, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Health inaugurated GCC’s first and only dedicated occupational healthcare facility- ‘Occupational Health International’ (OHI) today in Dubai. With the aim of raising the profile of work based medicine and with a huge capacity to assess healthy employees away from the usual cross infection issues in clinics and hospital patients, ‘Gulf Healthcare International’ joins hands with the leading American occupational healthcare provider ‘Occucare International’, to set up OHI in a 15000 sq feet facility in the heart of Dubai. Equipped with the highest level of technology and medical expertise, the center will offer a broad range of services from comprehensive health checks to bespoke health solutions for special industry verticals. The initial outlay in setting up the facility has been estimated at over AED 30 Million.

“The UAE registers one of the highest incidence of lifestyle diseases; one in every four residents has diabetes and cardiac conditions are the single largest cause for mortality- these are disturbing trends and are heavily linked to obesity, lifestyle and stress. Given that over two thirds of the population spends most of their time in the workplace, it is a logical place to start education and preventitive initiatives. This is one of our key aims in investing in such a facility,” said Mark Adams, CEO of Gulf Healthcare International.

“In addition, it is accepted that modern occupational health practices play an important role in enabling businesses to reduce absence levels due to sickness and can help to optimize staff performance and productivity. Occupational Health International is committed to the highest standards of healthcare excellence and customer service. Our client’s employees will have full access to a wide range of diagnostic and health improvement advice. These will be provided in a well appointed facility that gives ample private space for each visitor and allows them to feel comfortable. ”

Catering to a wide range of industries and with large processing capability, the center provides: screening, vaccinations, treatment and education to employees and will work with employers to adapt best practices in the workplace. With the focus on prevention and education, the Rigga Road facility in Deira provides comprehensive pre-employment screenings, annual medical investigations, well man and well woman investigation examinations, as well as minor treatment, travel medicine. With its leading laboratory and radiology facility the center can conduct and report on 300 full medical investigations each day. Within the extensive facility there are 8 physicians and nearly 50 staff. The quality assurance program will ensure that the customers’ requirements are met at all times and a focus on continuous improvement will always be maintained. Health education through periodic engagements with employees of client organizations is also intended to be a part of the services offered.

For more information, visit: http://www.occupational-healthcare.com/
 

RTA launches Phase II of Bus Taxi Dedicated Lanes

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has announced the launch of Phase II of the Bus & Taxi Dedicated Lanes Scheme, which includes parts of Naif Road extending one kilometer and Al Ittihad Road extending one kilometer as well, to be carried out in the first half of 2011. He added that the launch of Phase II of the Scheme comes in response to the huge success seen by the initial phase. Surveys and studies conducted by the RTA covering more than 1,000 users and drivers of public buses and taxis showed that 77 per cent of them responded that they wished to have the project expanded to include other streets in Dubai. 75 per cent of respondents confirmed that the scheme would help shorten the journey time and 86 per cent of bus drivers expressed their satisfaction with the scheme stressing that it would help slash the journey time and boost public transport rider-ship.

Al Tayer added that RTA had surveyed a number of roads prior to the implementation of Phase II of the Bus & Taxi Dedicated Lanes Scheme that included a host of parameters, namely the traffic congestion, engineering capabilities of adding bus lanes, entry and exit points, parking spaces and their influence on activities in the area, bus routes and the analysis of feasibility study of public bus lanes together with their impact on traffic safety. He pointed out that the study concluded that qualified for this purpose were Naif Road in a sector extending one km from Al Musalla Road to Al Khaleej Road, and Al Ittihad Road in a sector of one km in the direction from Sharjah to Dubai starting from the entrance of Dubai Emirate and extends through Al Nahda intersection.

He added: “The bus and taxi dedicated lane will be integrated into Naif Road by eliminating the longitudinal parking spaces at the right side while maintaining the parking spaces at the left side. The removed parking spaces will be replaced by RTA’s multi-storey parking facility accommodating nearly 394 vehicles, where the current occupancy rate is not more than 70%. There are also parking spaces of car rental companies in the adjoining area. As for Al Ittihad Road, action will be taken to remove the existing concrete barriers placed in the direction from Sharjah to Al Nahda intersection, separating the main road from the service road, and blocking the traffic from Sharjah to Al Mamzar area. Here, traffic will be exclusively allowed for buses only”.

The Chairman of the Board and Executive Director indicated that Phase II would contribute to increasing the number of bus commuters in the two areas. There are nine public bus routes passing through Naif Road with a total of 36 buses in operation during peak hours. Running through Al Ittihad Road are seven public transport bus routes with a total number of 22 buses in operation during peak hours. The implementation of Phase II will contribute to enhancing the traffic safety on both roads. The study indicated that the bus dedicated lane on Naif Road would have positive bearing on the commercial movement in the area. As regard Al Ittihad Road, the study showed that the addition of the lane would reflect positively on the traffic safety and boost the operational efficiency of buses.

It is worth-mentioning that last May 2010 RTA implemented the initial phase of the Dedicated Bus & Taxi Lanes Scheme with a total length of about 5.6 km covering several areas including Al Mankhool Road (about 1400 meters from Al Satwa R/A up to Sheikh Rashid Road), Al Khaleej Road (about 3660 meters from Khalid bin Al Waleed Road Intersection up to Al Musalla Road opposite to Hyatt Regency Hotel), Khalid bin Al Waleed Road (about 220 meter from Al Mina Road Intersection up to Street 16), and Al Ghubaiba Road (about 320 meters from Al Mina Intersection up to Street 12). The selection of these areas was made following a comprehensive study that took into consideration the population density and the service of congested areas in Dubai Emirate.

The concept of the Scheme is based on dedicating a lane for the use of buses and taxis to ensure the timely arrival of buses to the bus stops. The dedicated lane is a successful global practice that helps motivate the inhabitants use public transport instead of private vehicles. The concept, which is being implemented in several American & European cities, aims at shortening the journey time, and accordingly lure community members to use public transport means.
 

Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) Partners With Etisalat To Offer Dedicated Services For Tenants

Etisalat today announced its strategic association with Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) to deliver enhanced telecom & (ICT services) to Jafza tenants at the Freezone with direct access to Etisalat services on a priority basis.

As per the strategic agreement, Etisalat will work closely with Jafza to create value for its customers and bring all the benefits of enhanced ICT services for its tenants thereby making the Free Zone a better place for international companies to do business.

Etisalat, through constant interaction with Jafza customers, would be able to understand their ICT requirements better and provide customized solutions that will further enhance productivity for these organizations. Etisalat has also set-up a dedicated email smbjafza@etisalat.ae , to facilitate a seamless interaction and provide prompt service to Jafza tenants.

According to Talal Al Hashimi, Managing Director, Economic Zones World, UAE Region: “Our aim is to provide the most conducive economic conditions to cultivate entrepreneurial ambitions. We are an investment destination par excellence, with a thriving work culture and an enabling IT infrastructure. Our agreement with Etisalat is in line with our objective of delivering a world class infrastructure for companies who are based in Jafza. This partnership will further augment the Free Zone‘s reputation as the premier provider of business services for a diverse range of national and international customers who rely on us to create the most attractive investment opportunities for their business.”

Ibrahim Mohammed Al Janahi, Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer of Jafza said: “Etisalat is one of Jafza’s key strategic service partners. This agreement not only strengthens our long-standing relationship with the telecommunications provider but gives our 6400-plus customers access to more sophisticated and differentiated service offerings. Providing advanced technology infrastructure to clients is part of our continuous innovation-led customer-centric strategy. Improved connectivity and operational efficiency gives our customers sustainable competitive advantages in their business and we will work closely with Etisalat to maximise our joint value proposition.”

According to Abdulla Al Mana, GM, Etisalat Dubai, Etisalat, “Our partnership with Jafza is a significant milestone and will pave the way for delivery of world class communication services to the Free Zone. Our intention is to work very closely with Jafza to understand their needs and help them achieve their business objectives by enhancing their ICT infrastructure, improving operational efficiency, boosting productivity and optimizing costs through a partnership based approach.”

“This partnership is part of our long term strategy aimed at developing a closer relationship with our customers located within specific business zones across the country and to deliver the best in telecom and ICT services to enhance customer satisfaction. The business sector is a vital focus area for Etisalat and we are enhancing our ICT offerings for the sector to help companies achieve higher productivity and operational efficiencies. This latest initiative will also bring more synergies in terms of ICT services & joint marketing activities with Jebel Ali Free zone,” said Abdulla Hashim, Senior Vice President, Business solutions at Etisalat.

Jafza is built over an area of 48 square kilometers and ranks amongst the world’s largest and the fastest growing free zones. In its 25 years of operations, Jafza has posted more than 320 times growth in its number of companies growing from 19 in 1985 to over 6400 in 2009.
 

77% Of Public Bus Users Favour More Dedicated Lanes: RTA Survey

Roads & Transport Authority: A recent survey carried out by the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) revealed that 77 per cent of public transport users in Dubai favoured widening the scope of Dedicated Lanes for Buses and Taxis scheme to cover more streets, over and above Al Mankhool, Al Khaleej, Khalid bin Al Waleed and Al Ghubaiba streets; which saw the debut of the scheme in mid May last.

“Bus Dedicated Lanes scheme has achieved high satisfaction rating among the public over the last few months; giving an indicator of its ability to attract more community members to use public transport modes and thus serve the ultimate objective of the scheme. The scheme also contributes to increasing the traffic capacity of the concerned streets, slashing the journey time, and enhancing the integration between various public transport modes, including mass transit systems; which all add to the realization of RTA strategic objective of increasing the share of public transport to 30 per cent by 2020,” said engineer Maitha bin Udai, CEO of RTA Traffic & Roads Agency.

“Since inauguration, we have been monitoring the efficiency of the scheme in serving the objectives for which it was introduced. A questionnaire was carried out in the first half of July last covering 1053 respondents and the results proved that the scheme was starting to pay dividends,” she added.

Elaborating on the results of the survey, Maitha said: “The questionnaire covered 5 categories related to the scheme spanning 516 public transport users, 119 private vehicle motorists, 221 cab drivers, 151 public bus drivers, and 56 RTA inspectors.

“Among public transport users 77 per cent wished the scheme to cover other streets in Dubai, 75% stated that the scheme helped shorten the journey time, 76 per cent believed that the scheme would be an attractive element for using mass transport, and 74 per cent expressed their satisfaction with the awareness campaigns of the scheme.

“The initial results of the questionnaire prompt the RTA to open other phases of the Dedicated Lanes for Buses and Taxis scheme after conducting comprehensive studies of each phase to assess its impact on the roads network of each district.

“The project received a welcome sign from public bus drivers as 86.4 per cent of them expressed their satisfaction with the impact of the project in shortening the journey time, 87 per cent said that the scheme would boost public transport ridership, and 88.4 per cent wished the scheme to be expanded to cover new streets and districts in Dubai, besides those opened last May,” continued Maitha.

She further stated that the awareness campaigns of the scheme would target all road users, particularly private motorists where 44 per cent of them said that they knew nothing about the Dedicated Lanes scheme, and were also unaware of the prescribed misuse fine amounting to AED600. “RTA has therefore prepared an educative brochure to be distributed widely to cover the largest possible numbers of community members. The brochure includes the objectives of the scheme, the four roads covered under the initial phase, and the enforcement measures coordinated between the RTA and Dubai Police,” commented Maitha.

“RTA has recently delivered a series of educative lectures on the scheme targeting mainly drivers of public buses and taxis and will soon roll on intensive educative campaigns and lectures to explain the technical features of the Dedicated Lanes for Buses and Taxis scheme such as the exclusive markings, signage and light signals,” said the CEO of RTA Traffic & Roads Agency in a final remark.

Emirates Launches Dedicated Lounge At Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Emirates today celebrated the opening of its dedicated lounge for its First and Business Class passengers as well as Gold members of Skywards, the airline’s frequent flyer programme, at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Located in the International Departure Concourse and located next to Gate 75, it is the first dedicated lounge in Terminal 2 and also the only lounge in the airport that offers an extensive menu of complimentary hot and cold gourmet dishes, as well as a full bar service.

Mohammed H Mattar, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Airport Services, said: “The Shanghai lounge is an integral part of the Emirates experience, putting passengers in the best possible frame of mind for their journey. Today, as the World Expo continues, we are delighted to be adding Shanghai as the 27th Emirates Lounge to join our network of lounges.

“With the addition of the Shanghai lounge, well over half of our 18 destinations in the Far East and Australasian region have their own dedicated Emirates Lounge.”

Edwin Lau, Emirates’ Vice President, Greater China said: “This is the second lounge that we have opened in China, after Beijing in 2009. It is a very special occasion for us and demonstrates our commitment to our passengers from China. We are convinced that the continued upgrading of our services is the ultimate driving force behind the sustained and robust demand for Emirates flights. And it is our loyal passengers that have made possible our great success in Shanghai and all over China.”

The 860m2 lounge, capable of holding 165 passengers at any one time has the same signature touches as all Emirates lounges across the airline’s global network. Its luxurious amenities include designer shower rooms, cream leather lounge couches, 52-inch plasma TVs and a fully equipped Business Centre with Internet access and Wi-Fi.

Guests can also enjoy an extensive menu of hot and cold gourmet dishes, as well as a full bar service, supported by a team of dedicated lounge staff.

The Emirates Lounge in Shanghai becomes the 27th on the network and the 11th in the Far East & Australian Region. Other Emirates Lounges around the network are Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Birmingham, Brisbane, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester, Munich, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York – JFK, Paris – Charles de Gaulle, Perth, Singapore, Sydney and Zurich.

The Emirates Lounge caters for passengers on Emirates’ two non-stop, daily flights currently operated between Shanghai and Dubai- EK305, departure at 0715hrs & EK303, departure at 2330hrs.
 

National Bonds Corporation PJSC Launches Dedicated Customer Service Team For Handover Of Skycourts Project

National Bonds Corporation PJSC, the leading Sharia compliant saving scheme, has announced the launch of a new dedicated Customer Service Centre for its Skycourts project. This Unit will operate as a single point of contact for all updates, queries and general communications in relation to the Skycourts project.

Mohanad Alwadiya, Project Director of Skycourts LLC, said: “The Skycourts handover process to homeowners will begin in the third quarter of 2010. With construction progressing at a accelerated pace to meet the expected delivery date, the Skycourts Customer Service Centre is gearing up for the handover process that will be done with a phased approach depending on the completion of the towers.

The newly appointed Skycourts customer service team will also be in-charge of facilitating and supervising all resale, lease transactions and upon request, can also handle the required transactions with the Dubai Land Department and DEWA on behalf of customers.

“The centre is staffed by a highly experienced team of professionals who are dedicated to provide Skycourts customers with all the information and ensure an efficient and hassle free property handover process along with a suite of post handover services,” added Alwadiya.

The new team has already established various communication channels for Skycourts homeowners such as: the call centre, to contact any of the Skycourts customer service consultants on 600-5222-60 or they can visit the revamped interactive and user-friendly Skycourts website www.skycourtsdubai.com, which will allow customers to chat live with a consultant, express an opinion via the official Skycourts forum, access weekly project progress updates and even list their properties for sale or lease.

Additionally, the Skycourts team has already commenced many initiatives for the benefit of Skycourtshomeowners, such as facilitating the leasing or reselling of their apartments to securing anchor retail tenants.

Skycourts project is a pioneering AED 1.4billion (US$400m) residential development in the heart of Dubailand.

The project includes over 2,800 apartments in six towers and residents will enjoy facilities such as a swimming pool, health club, restaurants and commercial retail space, in one of the prime locations of Dubai.
 

Dedicated Medical Fitness Centre Launched At Jebel Ali Free Zone

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in collaboration with Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) inaugurated today a completely dedicated medical fitness centre in JAFZA to expedite the processing of medical tests for the issuance of employment and residence visas.

Khalid Al Sheikh Mubarak, Deputy Director General of the DHA and Ibrahim Al Janahi, Chief Commercial Officer JAFZA inaugurated the new medical fitness centre which aims to benefit employees of companies operating in JAZFA With the opening of this centre, the DHA has a total number of 13 medical fitness centres spread across the Emirate of Dubai. These include centres at DIFC, Knowledge Village, TECOM, Al Satwa, Al Safa, Al Mankhool, Al Khawaneej, Al Twar, Airport centre, Al Badaa etc.

The centre located in JAFZA will have a registration counter, a separate male and female section for conducting blood tests and x-rays as well as a nursing room.

The centre will be manned by DHA officials and offer services from 7 am to 2 pm from Saturday to Thursday.

Mubarak said, "At the DHA, we want to provide our stakeholders convenience and access to medical centres. Thus, the move to collaborate with JAFZA is in line with our strategy for providing accessible healthcare solutions to our stakeholders. Conducting medical tests for the issuance of employment and residence visas is a mandatory procedure in the UAE and we want to make this a convenient procedure for our stakeholders.

Therefore, the logical move is to host medical centres at different venues across the Emirate of Dubai in order to ensure we are in close proximity to our stakeholders."
 

Dedicated Shoppers Reap Rewards At Mall Of The Emirates And Deira City Centre

Two self-confessed shopaholics, one in her 40s and the other in her 20s, are the latest winners of Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre’s joint DSS promotion that is giving away prizes worth AED 2 million during the festival.

Nazan Onu, a Turkish tourist and Elena Mavrayeva, a Dubai resident from Uzbekistan have won AED 100,000 each and have already started spending their windfalls by shopping at their two favorite malls!