NEW ONLINE PLATFORM WILL HELP EMIRATIS BUILD HOMES

▶ Sheikh Mohammed leads Cabinet talks confirming Sheikh Mansour as investment board head

The UAE Cabinet has established Darak, an online platform that will help Emiratis build homes.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, led the meeting at Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, where the platform was launched.

Named using an Arabic word for “home”, it will provide citizens with construction solutions, banking facilities and exclusive offers for each stage of the process.

“The goal is to enable citizens to benefit from the same commercial facilities that government entities receive during construction, with the aim of reducing costs and improving quality,” said Sheikh Mohammed on Twitter.

Sheikh Mohammed said the Cabinet also approved the restructuring of the Emirates Investment Authority’s board of directors, with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, as chairman.

“The authority manages the investments and development of the assets of the federal government and aims to raise the income of the Emirates’ budget through these investments,” Sheikh Mohammed said. Two years ago, EIA launched an investment strategy that aimed to double the size of its assets within 10 years.

It planned to achieve this goal by investing in new sectors or increasing investment through its existing assets, helping it generate more returns.

The Cabinet also approved 78 environmental projects in preparation for Cop28.

“These initiatives include national strategies to reduce carbon emissions, regulate the use of solar energy products, promote sustainable tourism and other initiatives that support sustainable and environmentally friendly development in the UAE,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

Last month, more than 150 ministers and senior officials took part in a Green Retreat, setting out the UAE’s crucial climate-change goals in the run-up to Cop28 in Dubai.