US $3.5bn sought to fix Sharjah drainage

Sharjah is one of the oldest emirates

A US $3.5 billion (AED13 billion) strategy to fix drainage systems in Sharjah could soon be approved, according to Sharjah Municipality officials.

The move follows the death of three men in two separate incidents in Sharjah when they were electrocuted while standing in floodwater.

Sharjah officials aim to have the improved sewage and drainage network in place within three years, Salim al Owais, the head of the department of municipalities and agriculture, told UAE daily The National.

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Owais said Sharjah officials “have already made a study on the sanitation problem and would need AED13 billion to have all the networks in place that would solve this crucial problem”.

Sultan Al Mualla, the director general of Sharjah Municipality, told the paper the drainage network would be in place in the next three years.

“We have already put on paper the drainage networks plan that awaits approval. The plans have been subdivided into three phases that would include residential areas, industrial areas and the Eastern Region,” he said.

He said priority would be given to the most-affected roads – Emirates and Al Dhaid.