Eng. Sultan Al-Mualla

Sharjah is striving to try and attract more investment into various sectors in the emirate on the back of an ongoing economic boom, last year Sharjah’s GDP increased by a whopping 24% over the Dhs 42 billion it recorded in 2006. In your opinion what new business opportunities and trends lie within Sharjah?

As I see it, Sharjah Municipality is made up of the economic department and the department of finance. We are working together to improve the standard of the infrastructure in Sharjah.

Sharjah Municipality has pledged to improve the quality of life for residents of the city. Can you share with our audience more information on how you are going to do this?

By improving the infrastructure, the cleanliness of the city, by dealing with the city people and giving them what they need.

In your opinion what is it like to live in Sharjah for our potential tourist audience?

It’s a fantastic city and it’s similar to other cities in the Emirates. You can find everything here.

What is the specialty of Sharjah or how does Sharjah differentiate from other emirates?

Because in Sharjah we are trying to keep our city Islamic and more traditional, we have a lot of museums and aquariums for example which keep this feel. We are joining culture and modernity in this city.

Ali Al Salam Mahmoud Director General of Sharjah Economic Development said: we are looking at ways to attract more investors and to promote the emirate as a major business hub in the region. How do you fit into this concept and how do you assess your relationship with the other authorities and other governmental policy?

As the Sharjah Municipality we are in full cooperation with the economic department to make things work in Sharjah, by working with them to get the services to the people of Sharjah and for possible investors to find it easy to come here.

Do you see a significant improvement over the past 2 to 3 years?

Yes, there has been a lot more interest in Sharjah recently.

You mentioned you are the one to deal with potential investors coming to Sharjah and you are planning the guidelines.

The economic department is giving the guidelines but we are the ones who are making it easier for investors to come here.

So how do you make it easy for them?

If any investor comes to Sharjah he needs to find that the infrastructure is good, if he finds that then he will come. That is what we are working on, making the infrastructure good.

One of the major responsibilities of the Sharjah Municipality is to do public sanitation, city appearance and waste management. With all the economic growth questions about the negative impact are often asked, what is the municipality’s role on this issue?

We have water recycling programs happening, we are doing a lot with waste disposal and recycling too.

Compared to other emirates and countries in the region what is the level of corporate social responsibility or awareness to environment in Sharjah?

We are dealing with recycling from the construction sites very well, that is our job.

Do you see a lot of interest from other emirates into your expertise in pioneering initiatives such as companies looking or consultancy?

Yes, we are in cooperation with the other emirates.

How does Sharjah Municipality make the city a landmark city for architecture?

We are not the ones who are giving the approval for designs but we do give building permission and we are supervising what happens in this aspect.

As for the architecture, what are you looking for?

We want to combine Islamic and modern architecture.

The industrial areas 1 and 2 have to be converted into residential and commercial in the future, is that true?

This is the decision of the planning department, so I’m not sure about this.

The cities rapid growth and growth in nearby emirates are major causes of a huge strain on the infrastructure how are you going to minimize the negative externalities of growth?

There is cooperation between all the emirates to minimize the number of cars on the roads and we are always trying to improve the infrastructure.

If you were to imagine the infrastructure in say 5 years, what would it be like?

It will be what you see now. We are going to solve the problems, all the congestion problems hopefully will be gone.

Are you taking into account the other emirates?

Yes, we are taking them into account.

Where would you like to take the image of Sharjah?

As I see Sharjah is my city, and I want to keep it that way.

What are the main problems you are encountering on a day to day basis and what is the major cause of concern for you?

To improve the infrastructure, the challenges we meet are fire hazards.

How does Sharjah work hand in hand with other governmental departments to gain international recognition?

As I see it, in Sharjah Municipality we are one of the many departments that deal with the development of Sharjah.

Is there anything you would like to say to our viewers?

We are trying to bring a lot of investors and make Sharjah a better place.

What is your vision for the municipality and Sharjah?

Sharjah municipality is one of the departments and we should incorporate with everyone to keep Sharjah a great city.