UAE to build $4.5m Khalifa City in Aceh
UAE to build $4.5m Khalifa City in Aceh
Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- a small but oil-rich Middle Eastern country of three million people -- is planning to build a new town called "Khalifa City" with modern facilities in Aceh province, the UAE's ambassador to Indonesia Yousif Rashid AlSharhan said in Jakarta.
"We are building Khalifa City at a cost of US$4.5 million. We are planning to build 700 houses with public facilities like a mosque, school, hospital, drainage system and drinking water," ambassador AlSharhan, who submitted his credentials to then Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri on March 31, 2004, told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.
AlSharhan, who has visited Aceh several times since the Dec. 26 tsunami, said the UAE had received permission to buy the land from the Indonesian government, thanks to the help of Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda. The construction work will start soon.
The UAE will not just build Khalifa City in Lampaseh area and give it to the Acehnese people and leave ...
"Even after the completion of the city, the government of the UAE will continuously extend support for Khalifa City," AlSharhan, who is married and has five children, said.
The UAE, a thriving business hub in the Middle East -- the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of which is on par with that of many rich West European countries -- is one of the very few Muslim countries that donated millions of dollars for survivors of the tsunami -- which killed over 200,000 people (including missing) and destroyed the livelihoods and homes of thousands of others in Aceh and Nias, North Sumatra.
"Our government has pledged $20 million for the reconstruction of Aceh and Nias. Just one day after the tsunami, we sent a 40- member team consisting of paramedics and volunteers to Aceh from Dubai," AlSharhan, who is an experienced career-diplomat, said.
Besides Khalifa City, according to the 52-year-old diplomat who has a degree in economics from Beirut Arabic University in Lebanon, the UAE is also planning to build five orphanages, five health clinics and 25 medical care centers with a cost of over $4 million in Aceh. The UAE Red Crescent Society, and other charitable organizations, provided thousands of tons of food, medicine and clothes for the victims.
AlSharhan said the UAE was always ready to help Indonesia, which is the world's most populous Muslim nation.
"If needed, we are always ready to extend our help to Indonesia," he said.
Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates maintain very cordial relations, particularly in political and economic fields. Last year, the total bilateral trade reached $1.08 billion, a significant jump from $872.86 million in 2003.
The trade has always been in Indonesia's favor as Indonesian exports surpass UAE's exports to this country.
For example, Indonesian exports were $744.62 million in 2004 while the UAE's exports to Indonesia were $340.41 million.
"Indonesia is our 11th major supplier," AlSharhan said while referring to Indonesia's main exports of plywood, furniture, textiles, garments and electronics to the UAE.
Indonesia alone supplies 35 percent of the wood and plywood needed by the UAE, the 18th major export destination of Indonesia.
The UAE also employs about 45,000 Indonesian workers.
AlSharhan is optimistic that relations between the UAE and Indonesia will soon grow stronger, given the two countries' potential.