The Mohamed Bin Rashid Gardens, an ambitious AED200b billion parks project launched by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, has received wide acclaimed across the UAE on account of the balance it promises to strike between ecological integrity and real estate necessity. The launch of this mega project directly follows the signing off of the finalization of the first phase of implementation of the Dubai Green Buildings mandate, which is expected to cut water consumption in Dubai by 40 percent. Commenting on the Gardens Project, Dr. Abdullah Al-Amiri, chairman of the Emirates Energy Awards, organized by the Dubai Quality Group, said “the UAE has always blazed a bright trail in maintaining ecological integrity. Such initiatives conform to the global tendency towards preserving the environment, developing alternative energy resources and forestalling the eruption of wars, famines, droughts and other natural disasters that may result from the current climate change.” “The Emirates Energy Awards, organized by Dubai Quality Group, plays an eminent role in enhancing ecological awareness among the people of the UAE. We are still receiving applications for the UAE Student Drawing Competition on Energy Efficiency, which was launched in cooperation with the UAE's Ministry of Education.” “The Gardens Projects serves to provide us with more stimuli to forge ahead with our national project, tailored to provide a balance between urban necessity and environmental integrity.” He said that the winners of the drawing competition will be honored at a ceremony to be organized in November 2008 under the auspices of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. According to well-informed sources, the first steps of the Mohamed bin Rashid Gardens Project will hopefully be finalized within 6 months The project focuses on increasing green areas, which will reach 73 percent of the total project area of 880 million square feet with a total cost of AED200 billion. It will consist of four houses. The first, the “House of Wisdom”, will include translation houses, a central library, knowledge gardens, international organizations' quarters, international universities, history and science colleges, a mosque and Sheikh Mohammad's masjid. The second is the “House of Humanity”, and will include buildings and quarters for the House of Giving for charity, Sheikh Mohammad's Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, Unicef, the museum of light, the human civilization museum and charity foundations. The “House of Nature” is one of the project's main houses, which includes family parks, themed gardens, scientific labs that specialize in environmental issues, institutes, and colleges that specialize in the natural sciences, hotels, recreational clubs, an enormous zoo, flower gardens and alternative medical and herbal clinics. The project's fourth and final house, the House of Commerce, will include buildings, towers, trademark agents, higher education institutions in banking and the financial sciences, insurance companies, branches of large international companies and Islamic and international banks. __
