Abu Dhabi opens three 'worker cities'

Abu Dhabi has a huge worker community

The kind of construction projects going on in Abu Dhabi require a lot of workers. The recent Yas Island project had over 25,000 construction workers housed on the construction site, in their own unique metropolis. Now, with the emirate putting over a $1 trillion into infrastructure, they are opening three residential cities dedicated entirely to housing workers.

The three cities will have the capacity to house 400,000 people and will open in February next year. They were constructed to the highest possible international standards according to the director of facilities management at Abu Dhabi's Higher Corporation for Specialised Economic Zones (ZonesCorp) speaking to Arabian Business.

The Middle East has come under fire over the past few years with the number of deaths on construction sites increasing due to the large number of under-trained migrant workers being hired by firms.

Migrant worker deaths

A recent report by the Gulf Daily News stated that 35 workers had died so far this year, compared to 18 in 2005. It also reported that figures were steadily going up with 36 killed last year, 29 in 2007 and 21 in 2006.

Those being killed were mainly untrained labour from India and Pakistan falling from under construction buildings or being hit by falling debris or machinery. The report was a shocking indictment of construction firms hiring cheap labour and equipment to cut costs and the UAE was slammed by the Human Rights Watch for preventing to stop companies from abusing the rights of migrant workers.

The new cities seem to be a step forward to make sure that workers, technicians, supervisors and engineers working in the industrial and construction sectors in the emirate of Abu Dhabi have decent places to stay... but whether they are properly trained still remains to be seen.

"The construction of these workers' residential cities reflects the human values and response by our government with respect to international laws that call for providing decent living conditions for all types of workers and laborers working in the UAE," chairman Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a statement.

Relevant articles:

Abu Dhabi invests $1tn into infrastructure | Abu Dhabi linked to Saadiyat Island | Yas Island development

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