Khor Fakkan road to ‘change lives’
I decided to go back to my school as the travel time has been significantly reduced. To go from one city to the other, it now just takes less than an hour.”
Fatima Al Ali, student
I will be able to save Dh60,000, which I pay for the rent every year. If I will be travelling from my home to the office, my daily trip takes less than an hour now.”
Ali Al Zaabi, resident, Kalba
Sharjah — for the people of khor fakkan, the newly opened dh6billion road is a development that will change their lives. going to the other emirates — whether it’s for work, school or just to visit friends — will no longer be an arduous journey. it was a relief they were all happy about.
amina bin hammad, for one, lives in khor fakkan with her daughter who is suffering from kidney failure. they have to travel hundreds of kilometres thrice a week for her child’s dialysis in sharjah city. and when the sharjah-khor fakkan road opened, they instantly felt the difference.
“previously, we had to pass through the streets of suhaila, north of the city of al dhaid, which was not very safe because the streets that we used were dark and most are dedicated for trucks. now, with the new road, our journey is much faster and a whole lot safer,” she said.
fatima al ali, on the other hand, used to travel to dubai twice a week for her graduate studies but she had to give it up as the long commute pushed her to exhaustion. but because of the road, she’s now back in school.
“i decided to go back to my school as the travel time has been significantly reduced. to go from one city to the other, it now just takes less than an hour, a huge improvement from the previous travel time of more than 130 minutes,” al ali said.
residents amna ali al hamadi and majid askar said the new road will also be a big help to the residents of the eastern region, who no longer need to travel via old, narrow and unmaintained streets to go to other emirates.
those in the neighbouring areas, such as kalba and dibba, were relieved, thanking his highness sheikh dr sultan bin muhammed al qasimi, member of the supreme council and ruler of sharjah, for making the project happen.
Ali al zaabi, a resident of kalba, said that because of the distance between his home and his government workplace in sharjah, he had to rent an apartment within the city.
“i will be able to save dh60,000, which i pay for the rent every year. if i will be travelling from my home to the office, my daily trip takes less than an hour now,” al zaabi said.
on top of the accessibility that the khor fakkan project provides, a spike in job opportunities for the residents in the eastern region is also expected, as they used to turn down jobs in sharjah and dubai due to the long distance.
ali abdul rahim, another kalba resident, said that although the new khor fakkan road is located amid the mountainous areas, it is characterised by smooth mobility and high efficiency, as it has four wide lanes.
“the services provided by the new road are not limited to the residents of the eastern region, residents of fujairah are also bound to enjoy travelling through the road, instead of the usual streets, where there are many curves,” rahim said.