Dubai Gold Souq set to get a glittering makeover

Based on its interactions with traders and customers, the Dubai Municipality will be giving a facelift to Gold Souq in Deira, officials have said.

As part of the efforts to implement the image enhancement program, the municipality’s customers and partners relations department recently organised a field visit of the top management of the civic body to ascertain the issues faced by the traders in the oldest souq in Dubai.

Officials of different departments have identified and finalised reforms required in the vital market visited by a large numbers of tourists of different ages and nationalities.

Jabir Al Ali, director of the general maintenance department, said that all the observations of the customers in the market have been listened to and taken into account in order to implement all developmental practices in the field of maintenance.

He added that renovations will be carried out across the souq. “We will fix the flooring, add more fans and conduct some maintenance in shops,” said Al Ali. The second phase of renovations will start next year, he added.

The changes come after a meeting with traders to listen to their concerns and complaints.

Redha Salman, director of the public health and safety department at the municipality, said that a preliminary assessment of health and safety standards has been conducted in the Gold Souq and focus will be given to recommend the use of equipment and materials that are adaptive to the climatic conditions.

“We have identified, classified and submitted the recommendations to the departments concerned about the required changes in the market,” he said.

The initiative comes in view of the inability of some traders to leave their shops and their work to go to the municipality themselves to submit their suggestions and observations.

Amin Ahmed Amin, director of Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL), said that his department participated in the field visit to document the remarks of shop owners and gold and jewellery establishments, and listen to their suggestions.

These suggestions contribute to simplify the procedures leading to their happiness through the tasks entrusted to the DCL in technical aspects such as inspection and collection of samples that are placed in a sealed custom envelope.

“The shop owner sends the sample to the DCL for testing, which is done using the latest technology by highly qualified technicians and analysts in this field to ensure that they comply with the specifications,” he said.

Amin said the DCL officials also conduct laboratory calibration of electronic scales of gold and jewellery shops by using modern technologies and expertise with high efficiency to check and confirm their accuracy, because of its significant impact on the merchant and consumer.

Faridoon Abdul Rahman Al Awadhi, head of security and administrative services section in the assets management department, said officials will study the demand of the customers in the market to provide club cars for the supply of food products in the area. Khalid Mohammed Ahmed, head of urban heritage design projects section in the Architectural Heritage Department, said the souq will be developed in innovative ways to keep abreast of the urban development in the emirate while preserving the distinctive heritage character and giving aesthetic touches on the facades of buildings in the market and providing architectural elements such as umbrellas, ventilation methods, lighting and smart signage through cooperation with the most specialised engineering companies.

Saeed Al Falasi, head of building inspection section in the buildings department, said the department is assigned to monitor all shops in the market in terms of decoration and interior design as well as to check the status of existing buildings and their compatibility with the safety standards of buildings in heritage areas.

Courtesy: Khaleej Times/ Images: livingindubai.org