Special UAE licence plates go under the hammer

Six distinctive Z licence plates will be auctioned to celebrate Sheikh Zayed’s life and drive up support for charity.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority will donate proceeds from the sales – all of them with a connection to the Founding Father’s life – to good causes in the UAE.

The one-off batch are part of a collection of 80 licence plates that will go under the hammer at a Year of Zayed open auction at the Hilton Al Habtoor City in Dubai on November 17.

The auction commemorates the legacy of the country’s Founding Father in the Year of Zayed, which marks his birth centenary.

Potential bidders are required to have a traffic file in Dubai and must deposit a Dh25,000 cheque as security, which can be redeemed if no successful bids are made. Deposits can also be paid by credit card.

Dh120 must be paid as a subscription fee.

There is no limit on the number of plates you can buy. To register for the auction, visit www.rta.ae, or RTA centres at Umm Al Ramool, Deira, Al Barsha, and Al Tawar Municipal Centre.

Registration can also be made on the day, from 2pm to 4.30pm.

A life in numbers (and letters):

Z1918: The plate is a symbolic reference to the year Sheikh Zayed’s was born.

Z1946: The number refers to the year Sheikh Zayed took the reins of power at Al Ain city. The city had suffered from water scarcity before he transformed it into an oasis.

Z1968 and Z68: These refer to the Al Sameeh meeting, the first between Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, then Ruler of Dubai, to unify the Emirates on the Gulf coast and establish a single state.

Z1971: The year the UAE was formed.

Z2018: This number plate marks the Year of Zayed celebrations.