30,000 extra school seats in Abu Dhabi
10 COMMUNITY INITIATIVES LAUNCHED IN FIRST PHASE OF GHADAN 21 PROGRAMME
Tens of thousands of extra school seats, doubling of housing loans and thousands of new housing units are among the initiatives lined up in the first phase of the Abu Dhabi Accelerators programme, the committee in charge of the programme announced yesterday.
The Executive Committee of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council announced details of 10 community development initiatives under the Abu Dhabi Government Accelerators Programme called Ghadan 21 (Tomorrow 21), which fall under three categories: Education and employment, housing and communities and social support services.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, earlier this month approved a three-year Dh50 billion budget for the programme. “Dh20 billion will be allocated to the 2019 development package,” Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed said.
Ghadan 21 focuses on four key areas: Business and investment, society, knowledge and innovation and lifestyle.
Under education initiatives, six private partnership schools with a capacity of 15,000 seats will be launched and 15,000 seats added to other schools in the next three years. The cost of the public schools programme will also be reduced Dh20,000 per student per year.
In line with the decision to double the number of approved housing loans to citizens to 5,000 loans annually, the Abu Dhabi real estate market will be supplied with 15,000 housing units in the next three years. Around 2,500 units have already been completed and obtained approvals, while another 2,500 units are expected to be approved by the end of the year.
Dh3 billion allocated for the development of community facilities in Khalifa City, Mohammad Bin Zayed City, Shakhbout City and Madinat Zayed is also being dispensed.
A social investment fund will be created to create opportunities for volunteering.
The Social Support Authority’s mandate includes providing financial and non-financial support to eligible families and help families to achieve financial independence. The first programme is expected to be launched next year.