Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, has approved a study prepared by the Municipality’s Assets Management Department to set up markets for household needs in residential neighbourhoods.

These markets will cater to providing materials for the maintenance of homes, such as electricity, plumbing, stitching, air conditioners, electrical work on cars, and other necessities related to pharmacies and bakeries, ensuring that these services can be provided in homes.

Lootah has also asked the officials in the Assets Management Department to improve the working environment in several markets in Dubai, namely the Fahidi Souq, Souq Al Shaabi, the truck market, and the birds and pets market.

"The municipality has conducted many surveys among the public and customers, resulting in the adoption of a proposal to establish markets in residential neighbourhoods called "Professional Markets in Residential Neighbourhoods," which will include all the professional services that the public may need to run their daily lives," said Eng. Juma Al Fuqae, Director of Assets Management Department.

He also mentioned that a meeting was held with traders from all the four markets to discuss their comments and views to enhance business, within the framework of a plan, which the municipality would implement in co-operation with the other government departments.

"There has been great co-operation from these departments to increase the trade movement in the emirate, as they are also working to make all the customers in the emirate happy to achieve the concept of Happy Dubai," Al Fuqae remarked.

He pointed out that as per the plan, more parking facilities would be provided to shoppers in the Al Fahidi area, in addition to facilitating and activating the movement of vehicles, in co-operation with the Roads and Transport Authority.

Al Fuqae said that a hypermarket, 57 shops and car parks were opened recently in the Al Fahidi Market, which has some 145 shops, including restaurants, cafeterias, gold shops and money exchange centres, all of them rented out through auctions.

"The shops in the Souq Al Shaabi were distributed, with the co-operation of the Architectural Heritage Society, on the basis of the old and modern traditional professions carried out by the people of the UAE, such as selling frankincense, Arabian perfumes, traditional clothing and sweets, among others. Some 50 stores were distributed to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for small and medium enterprises," he revealed.

The truck market accommodates about 88 large shops for the sale of heavy trucks, which were distributed in co-ordination with all the heavy vehicle dealers in Dubai, and it was built after studying all the requirements for such a market, he added.