Abu Dhabi City Municipality earns high recognition

The Abu Dhabi City Municipality has garnered a high industry recognition for its achievements in implementing smart lighting projects in a ceremony held here in the presence of H.R.H. Princess Astrid, Representative of His Majesty the King of Belgium, during her visit to the UAE recently.

During the ceremony, Jean-Claude Marcourt, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade in Belgium, presented a trophy to Musabbah Mubarak Al Murar, Acting General Manager, Abu Dhabi City Municipality, in the presence of a host of high-ranking officials.

Al Murar expressed his deep thanks and appreciation to H.R.H. Princess Astrid, Representative of His Majesty the King of Belgium, for this kind gesture which, he says, will undoubtedly contribute to fostering the cooperative and partnership relationships between the two parties, and enabling the sharing of expertise and benefiting from successful practices in smart lighting applications besides realising the standards of sustainability.

"This decoration from H.R.H. will have a positive bearing on harnessing modern concepts compatible with the requirements of sustainability and power-saving, which is the ultimate standard and target of the Municipal System in Abu Dhabi. Through adopting this approach, the Municipal System has managed to achieve remarkable achievements of the industry as evidences by the accomplishment of plenty of projects of replacing old and conventional lighting systems with the LED lighting system, which has qualified the Municipality for obtaining a number of local, regional and international awards. This decoration from H.R.H. the Princess of Belgium also underscores the success of the Municipal System in implementing the vision and sustainable strategy of Abu Dhabi Government," commented Al Murar.

"The Municipality is working on the implementation of Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda and is committed to nurturing a sustainable infrastructure environment in keeping with the vision of Abu Dhabi Government, emphasising the importance of adopting policies and programmes tailored towards implementing the standards of sustainability and optimising renewable power consumption throughout the development drive witnessed by Abu Dhabi Emirate," he added.

He noted that all core projects undertaken by the Municipality fall under an overall power-saving strategy built on using modern lighting systems characterised by low consumption and high efficiency in lighting streets, bridges and public utilities.

"This plan has made the Municipality eligible for obtaining international awards in the lighting industry. Modern lighting systems now are a feature of several facilities within the realms of the Abu Dhabi City Municipality such as the Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Al Maqta Bridge, Al Mussaffah Bridge, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Khalifa Park, Abu Dhabi Corniche, Al Muroor Street, Sheikh Rashid Street, Bain Al Jisrain Park, and Baniyas Park, among others," added Al Murar.

"As part of the lighting replacement plan, the Abu Dhabi City Municipality has accomplished the replacement of old-fashioned lighting with modern LED lighting in six pedestrian subways in Abu Dhabi. The move conforms to the strategy of the Municipality aligned with the policy of sustainability, and the protection of the environment with the aim of realising the principles of optimising power consumption and providing better lighting levels.

"The Maintenance and Operation of Internal Roads Network and Public Realms Team is commissioning a study for replacing conventional lighting with LED lighting in all the remaining 29 pedestrian underpasses within Abu Dhabi Island under Phase II. Six pedestrian underpasses are located in Sheikh Zayed the First Street, including four subways on Corniche Street. Fitting pedestrian subways with LED lights has contributed to as much as 33% power saving, improving visibility in pedestrian underpasses and reducing annual maintenance expenses remarkably.

"The migration from tradition gas lighting model to LED lighting has contributed to slashing power consumption and gas emissions resulting from power generation and usages, thus achieving the feasibility of the power-saving program. Using modern lighting has also added a touch of beauty to the quality and effectiveness of lighting of streets, buildings and public utilities.

"The Abu Dhabi City Municipality is moving ahead with its pioneering project in sustainable lighting applications starting from the Sheikh Zayed Street project, in respect of which the Municipality has won two international awards in the fields of smart, creative and sustainable lighting.

"The Municipality has obtained this prestigious international accolade, thanks to the implementation of an LED-driven lighting project at Shamkha South, rendering it the first Municipality in the Middle East to undertake such a project. Previously, it had also bagged several awards including the Middle East Lighting Award in the category of the Best Sustainable Lighting Project as part of the Creative Lighting Design Contest held at the Dubai World Trade Centre," said Al Murar.

"Implementing the lighting strategy contributes to the realisation of an array of benefits highlighted by reducing overall costs by as much as 40% over the next 20 years. The policy nurtures a perfect lighting environment at the highest international standards, contributes to reducing power consumption by at least 60%, curbs the emission of carbon dioxide by 75%, and slashes fitting and maintenance works in the future by 40-80%. Meanwhile, the Municipality is proceeding with its project aimed at disposing of about 300 thousand old type lighting bulbs in streets and replacing them by power-saving LED lighting systems.

The Acting General Manager concluded his statement by reiterating the commitment of the Municipality to the vision of the Municipal System in applying a lighting strategy aligned with the vision and directives of the Abu Dhabi Government, aimed at achieving the highest standards of sustainability, conserving natural resources, and protecting the environment.
Source: WAM