It has landed! A bird? No it's the Louvre!

Abu Dhabi: The Louvre Abu Dhabi is currently more than 95 per cent complete, with the project progressing on schedule and set for handing to the Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA) by July or August 2016.

The museum is expected to open in December 2016 or January 2017, according to Ali Majed Al Mansouri, chairman of the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).

“We will hand over the Louvre to TCA by August… and TCA will then take their time to test the building, cool it down, and hang those beautiful paintings up there. I expect they will decide, and maybe by December, all of us might be able to go and see it.

“The plan is on track. We are above 95 per cent complete, and the remaining five per cent is very critical; it’s [defining] and it’s what people will see, so we are very careful to deliver good quality,” he said.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi was originally set to open in 2012, but that date was pushed back to late 2014, and then late 2016. It will be the first of three museums set for opening on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, and will be followed by the openings of the Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

Al Mansouri was speaking to Gulf News on Tuesday on the sidelines of Cityscape Abu Dhabi, which runs until Thursday, bringing together over 90 exhibitors and leading real estate developers.

Cityscape was inaugurated by a visit from Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

At the event, TDIC launched its latest project, Saadiyat Lagoons District, which is expected to be home to 29,000 residents across over 4,000 residential units. The six million square metre mixed-use developments will feature townhouses, villas, and apartments, along with leisure facilities.

The chairman said that TDIC has already received a lot of calls from investors to reserve their units, and is expected to see strong demand for the project.

“Long-term investors who are looking beyond 2016 and 2017 will buy a product like this. In 2017, I expect the economy to be better because the government is not cutting any projects and the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

I was a little cautious in 2015, but today, I’m optimistic about 2017 because I see the numbers; from the tourism numbers, for example, and new developments like [the expansion of] Abu Dhabi Airport,” Al Mansouri said.

Discussing Abu Dhabi’s economy, he said that such factors along with forecasted increases in oil prices are giving him some optimism about improved economic growth in 2017.

Also present at Cityscape was Aldar Properties showcasing its latest project, announced on Monday, Yas Acres to investors. The Dh6 billion residential and leisure development will feature 1,315 villas once it is completed in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Other developers at the event include Bloom Properties, Mubadala Development Company, Manazel Real Estate, Tamouh Investments, Eagle Hills, and Trafalgar Properties, among others.

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Around the world via solar power

Dubai: The UAE-backed aviation quest by Solar Impulse 2 to circumnavigate the world using only a solar-powered flight will resume in mid-April, says the team leader behind the multi-million-dollar mission.

Solar Impulse 2 is ready once again to champion its next challenge to encircle the remainder of the globe and is expected to end its mission in Abu Dhabi in summer, André Borschberg, CEO and founder, told Gulf News.

“We plan to return sometime this summer to Abu Dhabi but we have no specific deadline regarding the arrival. Once we are in Europe or North Africa we have different strategies to fly to Abu Dhabi depending on the season,” he said.

The aircraft was forced to ditch its mission temporarily after the plane experienced battery damage in its longest and most difficult five-day leg of the round-the-world flight over the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii where it landed on July 3, 2015.

The eighth leg of the mission logged a 117-hour, 52-minute non-stop flight covering 8,900km, smashing world aviation records for longest single flight ever both for duration and distance as well as for the longest solo flight in history.

While effecting repairs, the plane has remained grounded for eight months in Hawaii waiting to embark on its ninth leg to North America.

The hallmark flight to Hawaii was piloted by Borschberg who said in an exclusive interview that after making repairs to the planes batteries, the team is ready to take to the air once again in a couple of weeks.

Solar Impulse 2 will disembark from Hawaii and plot a track for the United States.

The take-off day is tentatively slated for April 15, pending weather conditions.

The April time window was chosen because days are growing longer, giving Solar Impulse 2 more daylight hours to recharge its batteries while airborne to power the aircraft through the night flights as it flies easterly.

The team expects the ninth leg of the resumed round-the-world flight to the US to take roughly four days and four nights and will be piloted by Solar Impulse 2 chairman Bertrand Piccard given Borschberg completed the first half of the Pacific journey.

Borschberg said the team has every confidence in the world in the Solar Impulse 2 technology and its reliability despite mechanical setbacks that grounded the aircraft last year.

“We had a problem with the batteries — we overheated them. It’s not a problem with the technology, which works very well, but we decided to change them not to not take any risks. So now we are ready to resume the Round-The-World Flight. During our time in Hawaii, our engineers have developed a fail-safe system which should safeguard them from temperature-related glitches in case we have to follow a different mission profile than the one foreseen,” Borschberg said. “It can be controlled from the cockpit and includes a cooling and backup system. In case the cooling system breaks down, the backup one steps in, allowing the pilot to control the opening so that it doesn’t stay completely open, which would cause freezing, or completely closed, leading to another overheating scenario.”

He said the engine housing has been tweaked to include a new air vent allowing for more air flow into the battery’s cooling system.

“The task was to improve the battery system — in particular the insulation and ventilation of the four batteries — so that nothing gets overheated again,” he said.

With new adjustments made to the aircraft, Borschberg said challenges still await Piccard in the cockpit as well as for the entire support team to cross not only the remainder of the Pacific but also the Atlantic Ocean after Solar Impulse 2 completes its crossing of North America.

The physical exertion upon the pilot who must stay awake for long periods of flight time is a major issue as are other health impacts from sustained flying, he said.

“Additionally, being able to stay awake, concentrate and to keep alert is a major human challenge. I did a lot of meditation to learn how to relax and breathe properly during the flight. With my trainer, we developed special exercises in order to keep blood circulation active and relax muscles. These were more postures than exercises, in some way derived from yoga. Above all, however, passion has been the driving force behind this endeavour,” Borschberg said.

Solar Impulse 2

The plane is highly unique with a sizeable wingspan of 72m across — longer than a Boeing 747 — to reduce drag and to house a surface large enough for its 17,248 solar panels. With a maximum altitude of 28,000 feet, the cruising speed is between 50-100 km/h. Solar Impulse 2 has four batteries that power four 17.5 horsepower electric engines.

2004-2009: Start-up financing, design and construction of Solar Impulse 1

2010: First-ever solar-powered day and night flight (André Borshberg)

2011: Special guest at Paris-le-Bourget International Air Show

2012: First intercontinental solar flight across the Mediterranean to Morocco (Bertrand Piccard)

2013: Across America Mission from San Francisco to New York City

2014: Solar Impulse 2 maiden flight

2015: Departure for the Round-The-World Flight from Abu Dhabi

July 3, 2015: First flight of 5 days and 5 nights without fuel over the Pacific from Nagoya, Japan, to Honolulu, Hawaii; and longest solo flight ever achieved (André Borschberg)

April 2016: Round-The-World Flight resumes

Image by: gulfnews.com

More children's playgrounds being built here

ABU DHABI, 2st April, 2016 (WAM) -- Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM) has unveiled the layout of 20 sites for children playgrounds to be constructed within parks during 2015-2016 at a cost of more than AED 30.542 million, spanning an area of over 14,000 square meters under the infrastructure projects in Abu Dhabi Mainland – North.

These projects, which come as part of the Master Development Plan of Abu Dhabi and suburbs 2030, reflect the Municipal System’s keenness and strategy aimed at developing infrastructure system of all cities and constructing parks and playgrounds.

The projects conform to the highest international standards and address the safety requirements for children and visitors of parks as well as children playing areas. The step also reiterates the Municipality’s commitment to provide entertainment options, especially for children.

Musabbah Mubarak Al Murar, Acting General Manager of Abu Dhabi City Municipality, said the Municipality had constructed 6 children's playing areas in the Mainland –North last year, spanning an area of 4,690 square meters, costing 9 million dirham.

This project included constructing children playgrounds, expanding the rubber tracks, erecting sheds, planting trees and ground cover plants, installing irrigation and lighting systems, and all other project requirements. The distribution of parks constructed covered the construction of one park at Baniyas East, four parks at Mohammed bin Zayed City hosting the aforementioned children playgrounds, and one park at Khalifa city.

"As part of its plan for 2016 aimed at revamping the infrastructure, the Abu Dhabi City Municipality is currently undertaking the construction of 14 recreational facilities in to Abu Dhabi Mainland – North as part of a project for constructing 20 children playing areas occupying an area of more than 9,700 square meters, costing over more than 20.5 million dirham," added Al Murar.

He noted that the sites, which were distributed over an extended geographical area, included 4 sites in Khalifa bin Zayed City, and 2 in Baniyas - East, 3 in Al Shawamekh, whereas Abu Dhabi Gate, Al Maqtaa, Al Falah, Shakhboot City, and Mohammed bin Zayed City had 1 site apiece.

Speaking about the key landscaping projects that have been constructed in Abu Dhabi and suburbs since last year, Al Murar said that during 2015 and as part of Phase VI, the Municipality completed a project aimed at embellishing and gussying up areas beyond Abu Dhabi Island, and rehabilitating parks & infrastructure in the Mainland.

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Got recyclable waste? Send it to this center

Dubai: The Bee’ah Waste Management Centre received 2.3 million tonnes of recyclable waste in 2015, an official said on Saturday.

Located in Al Sajaa, the centre is deemed the world’s largest waste management facility in terms of area, operational capacity and in-house facilities in which it has different types of facilities that have various functions like garbage dumping and material recovery, the official added.

The material recovery facilities receive different types of waste such as household and construction and demolition waste as well as tyres and car bodies, among others.

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Empowering women victims of violence

Dubai: The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWAC) launched its "Cases Empowerment Program" to rehabilitate the victims of violence of women to enter the Jobs market or starting their own small business that guarantees them a steady income to meet subsistence needs and ensures financial independence, which is one of the most important challenges facing this group.

Afra Al Basti, Director General of the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, said that the program also includes establishing a workshop for the victims of violence of women at DFWAC, to produce some of the products that can be sold in the market and benefit from the income for the good of the cases during their stay in the Foundation.

"The initiative is based on the provision of many training courses for this category, including courses in English, Arabic, cooking, sewing, handicrafts, arts and management of small projects, ICDL, Beauty, which includes hair styling and an expert makeup courses in collaboration with several licensed institutions that can give certificates to the victims in the end of the course to enhance their chances to get a job or start their own project", she added.

Al Basti explained that this initiative will contribute significantly to breaking the cycle of violence against women and reduce it, where some of the victims of violence often have to return again to the same cycle of violence as a result of their financial needs, and their dependence entirely on the person who is the source of abuse in this aspect, which is often the husband.

She added that through the rehabilitation of these victims within this initiative they will have greater opportunities to get jobs or start their own small project which enables them to achieve the desired financial independence, away from the source of abuse.

Al Basti noted that achieving financial independence for the victims of violence of women is very important not only to provide subsistence needs, but also is a part of the psychological support to help them to regain their normal lives back and reintegrate them into society.

Al Basti also add that the various parties and individuals can contribute to support this initiative and the other initiatives that the Foundation carried out to support the victims of violence of women and children, through the gate of the Emirates Charity Gate www.ecp.ae or by downloading its Mobile App, as well as through DFWAC’s page on "Just Giving" platform.

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Starting them young in entrepreneurship

Dubai: The Young Entrepreneur Competition 2016, held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, began today at the Dubai Festival City Mall. The competition, organised by Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, features more than 500 diverse business projects presented by more than 1,000 students from schools and universities across the UAE.

Mall visitors can see the participating business projects and buy the products displayed in specially designed kiosks till the 2nd of April. UAE nationals account for 45% of the projects on display while 10% are from other GCC countries and the remaining are from other nationalities. Girl students are a majority among the contestants – 574, against 427 boys.

Ibtihal Al Naji, General Coordinator of YEC, said the overwhelming participation in YEC 2016 confirms the event’s success in reaching out to the students in various age categories to nurture the entrepreneurial culture, in consistent with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President UAE Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

"In its 11th edition, the Young Entrepreneur Competition is being supported by various government and private agencies, including, but not limited to, Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children, Ministry of Social Affairs, Public administration for children centers and the Ministry of Education, along with a number of schools in the UAE. Such support reflects the priority accorded by competent authorities to entrepreneurship development and to supporting creative young talents who are looking for the perfect environment to achieve their ambitions," Al Naji stated.

"Dubai Festival City Mall is proud to support the entrepreneurial spirit of the UAE by partnering with Dubai SME for the Young Entrepreneur Competition 2016. The competition offers a great platform for students to translate their business ideas into real-world projects, and gain operational experience in buying, selling, and dealing directly with customers. We believe DFC Mall provides the right environment for students to showcase their products, while enjoying an unbeatable combination of shopping, leisure and entertainment options within a truly unrivalled setting," commented Steven Cleaver, Director – Shopping Centres, Al Futtaim Group Real Estate.

Abdul Aziz Al Mazam, Chief of the Registration Committee of YEC said the 2016 edition is witnessing an unprecedented level of competition, creativity and business acumen among the participants. "Besides, there are younger age groups participating for the first time, which shows the growing interest and confidence generated by the event year after year. Around 750 of the participants this year are aged 12-25 years while 250 are aged 6-11, which is more than twice the number of participants in this category in the previous cycle."

Al Mazam also stressed the importance of the contest in encouraging creative ideas of the youth and enabling them to drive economic growth in the emirate. The event provides a competitive environment that true to the realities of the business world, gives the students an opportunity to manage their business projects, and instills a desire in them to establish their own businesses in the future.

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Emirates Airline now serves Cebu and Clark

Emirates airline’s new daily circular service from Dubai to Cebu and Clark in the Philippines has touched down at Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The service, which is the airline’s latest route addition, is expected to strengthen international connectivity to the hubs, which are two of the Philippines’ fastest-growing.

The nine-hour inaugural flight left Dubai in the early hours of Wednesday morning and was welcomed with an airport reception and press conference upon touching down in Cebu mid-afternoon.

The airport is the second busiest in the Philippines behind Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“The Cebu Clark route has been a long commitment for Emirates in the Philippines since we started our flights to Manila in 1990, so it’s kind of a story-built commitment," said Emirates’ senior vice president commercial operations Far East, Badr Abbas.

“Cebu Clark is a popular destination - 75 per cent of Filipino foreign workers living in the Gulf area originate from the Philippines’ northern zone, which is close to Cebu area, while the catchment in the northern region has 17 million, and a lot of them are overseas workers working in the Middle East," he added.

Mr Abbas says he is confident the new service will be a good addition to the overall Philippines strategy and would generate enough demand to sustain direct flights.

The launch of the service comes a day after Emirates added four additional weekly flights from Dubai to Manila.

Since launching to the capital 26 years ago Emirates has transported more than 7.5 million Filipinos, international tourists and business travellers. Last year alone, it hosted more than 550,000 passengers on the Manila-Dubai route.

Cebu attracted 3.5 million foreign and local tourists between January and October 2015, which was up 4.1 per cent on the same period in 2014.

The two-class configured Boeing777-300ER that Emirates will operate on this route offers 42 seats in business class and 386 seats in economy class, with starting rates for each class starting from Dh8,775 and Dh2,385 including taxes respectively.

The flights to Cebu and Clark are scheduled to depart daily from Dubai as EK338 at 2.55am and arrive at Mactan-Cebu International Airport at 3.50pm. The service will then depart from Cebu at 5.25pm and arrive at Clark International Airport at 6.45pm. The return flight will depart at 8.20pm, arriving at Dubai International Airport the following morning at 1.25am.

According to Philippine officials the new services are a boon to their country, and especially important to its foreign workers.

“I have a brother working in Dubai, with this flight it makes my brother closer to home," a local spokeswoman said.

Last year, Emirates, which currently operates 251 aircraft worldwide, carried 49.3 million passengers and generated revenue of $US24.2 billion.

The inaugural flight saw Cebu local Walter Friday Brigoli as first officer.