BLOG

Since its industrial revolution, Dubai has provided numerous opportunities for everyone looking to achieve heights of success, and it is continuing to do so to date. Today, Dubai has become an international hub where people from all backgrounds are competing against each other. In order to cope up with the growing industrialization and infrastructure demand, it becomes very important to set a bar of standards for ensuring safety and security. The government of Dubai has handed over this responsibility to Trakhees.

It is worth noting that if you are planning to set up your own project in Dubai (under Trakhees Jurisdiction), you have to follow certain rules and regulations set by Trakhees. Moreover, you need to have a permit or approval for commencing the construction work. But the matter of fact is that sometimes the whole process of getting approval can be a bit difficult if you have not followed the procedures properly. Let’s make it simple for you and discuss what you need to do so that you can get Trakhees approvals easily:

Procedure For Getting a Building Permit

You cannot commence any construction work at your site before getting a building permit from Trakhees. You must follow the given procedure in order to get Trakhees Approval:

• Pre-Approval Formalities: Before applying for Trakhees Approval, your contractor or consultant has to first get NOC for concept design. This design is then submitted online via e-permit to obtain a Building Permit application ID. A building permit fee notification will then be sent to your consultant and the specified payment is to be made.

• Application Submission: Once the payment is made to the Trakhees cashier, your consultant has to submit the application at Trakhees Helpdesk along with the payment receipt. However, the documents and the application form are to submitted in a CD containing the documents in pdf format. If the CD contains all the documents as per the requirement, it is accepted and your consultant will receive a submission serial number sent through the mail. If the documents are not complete, Trakhees has the full right to reject your application.

• Document Distribution: Once your application is accepted for Trakhees Approval, a copy of your documents is sent to a structural engineer who then forwards them to an architect, quality engineer, and an HVAC specialist. The Structural engineer will check your drawings and documents for the desired structural calculation. The architect will cross-check your drawings as per various applicable standards. The quality engineer will examine the drawings as per the quality guidelines, and thermal load calculations will be checked by an HVAC specialist. Once all the engineers review the documents and drawings of your project, they will send a copy of their review to the Structural engineer who will then prepare a feedback summary report. This report will be then forwarded to the permit admin, who will then send the letter of Trakhees Approval to your Engineering consultant in Dubai. If the feedback summary report suggests any changes, then you will be required to resubmit your documents after making the specified changes.

• Drawing Uploaded to Server: If your application and documents are as per the guidelines, the structural engineer, architect, quality engineer, and HVAC specialist will sign and stamp your drawings and will upload them to the server. Permit admin will then prepare the NOC for the building permit and will attach all the recommendations to the permit. Your Engineering consultant in Dubai will be notified if any payment has to be settled by your side. The structural engineer and Sr. Manager Permits will sign the building permit.

• Permit Issuance: Once you have paid the additional fees (if any), the Director of Civil Engineering Department will sign the permit and your Engineering consultant in Dubai will receive a notification from the permit admin for collecting the CD. This CD will contain the building permit, signed drawings, and construction recommendations. It is important to comply with all the recommendations provided in the CD.

• Points to Remember: At this stage, you will have a building permit from Trakhees, but still you have to take care of certain things. They are as:

1. From the date of issuance, your building permit will be valid for 6 months.
2. You have to commence your construction work as per the recommendations provided by Trakhees.
3. You must also have approvals from Trakhees EHS, DEWA, Etisalat, and DU before commencing any work at the site.
4. All construction work should be as per the standards of the Civil Engineering Department of Trakhees.
5. After the completion of the construction work, the debris in the surrounding area should be cleaned within a week.
6. Last but not the least, the Trakhees inspection reports and copy of approved drawings should always be available on the site.

Procedure for Getting an Environmental Permit

Before discussing how to get an environmental permit, it should be noted that there are various types of environmental permits and each of them has its own specific applicability. They can be listed as:

• Harbor / Open Sea Discharge Permit: Applicable for projects disposing treated wastewater to open sea.
• Irrigation Permit: Applicable to projects using wastewater for irrigation purposes.
• Air Emission Permit: Applicable for projects using fuel-burning stacks with air pollution control equipment.
• Cutting and Relocation of Trees Permit: Applicable for projects that require tree cutting or relocation.
• Marine Mammal related activity: This category includes a permit to operate a captive marine mammal facility, permit to transport marine mammals, permit to conduct scientific research on marine mammals, and permit to import/export marine mammals. This permit is applicable to projects involving marine mammals.
• Aquatic Animals related activity: This category includes a permit to operate an aquarium facility, permit to transport aquatic animals, permit to conduct scientific research on aquatic animals, and permit to import/export aquatic animals. This permit is applicable to projects involving aquatic animals.
• NOC for Marine Area Management: Applicable for projects managing marine areas.
• Coral Translocation Permit: Applicable for projects performing coral translocation activity.
• NOC for Dredging and Reclamation: Applicable for projects performing dredging and reclamation activity.
• NOC for Conditional Environmental Activity: Applicable for projects performing activities related to environmental issues.
• Sand Transportation Permit: Applicable to those involving shifting transportation of sand from one construction site to another.

Procedure

The step by step procedure for getting environmental approval from Trakhees is as follows:

• Application Submission: Depending upon the type of permit you require for your project, a permit application form is to be submitted along with the documents mentioned on the form. After you fill-up the form, it is to be submitted to EHS Main Office Reception. You can also submit the application should e-mail. Remember to submit all the documents as mentioned in the form, or else your application will be rejected.

• Review of Application: The environmental department will review your application form and you will be notified in case of clarification from your side. You may also be required to submit some additional documents.

• Site Inspection: When your application is reviewed and everything is done, an officer from the environmental department will visit your site for an inspection. You will be notified of the inspection so that you can coordinate with the officer and agree upon the date & time of the visit.

• Permit Approval / Rejection: After considering all the facts, the environmental department will approve or reject your permit application. If it is approved, a permit will be issued to you.

• Payment: You are required to pay an amount towards your permit issuance and each permit requires a specific amount of payment to be made. No permit will be issued unless you do not make the payment. Below is the required amount of payment to be made for each type of permit:

• Renewal: In the case of Harbor Discharge Permit, Irrigation Permit, and Air Emission Permit, forty-five to sixty days prior to the permit expiry date, the environmental department will initiate the renewal process. This will be followed by a surprise site inspection and the inspection reports will be released within five working days for Air Emission, seven working days for Irrigation, and eight working days for harbor water, from the date of inspection. You will then be required to submit the application along with the specified payment amount and a renewed permit will be issued to you.

If you follow the procedure as per the given guidelines, it will be easy for you to get Trakhees Approval. Let us help you with your Dubai Approvals procedures wherein our experts will help you anytime and anywhere so that you do not have to deal with the re-submission of your application. Not only that, but we also help you with DEWA approval, Dubai Municipality Approval, Jafza Approval, and approvals from many more authorities of Dubai. So, feel free to visit us and allow us to serve you for easy approvals.

The Dubai Municipality or DM has come a long way since its establishment on February 28^th, 1957 by the first decree. It provides municipal services to the population of Dubai and its work includes urban planning, construction supervision, environmental protection and improvement, public parks conservation, regulating and ensuring international quality standards compliance in aspects such as

• construction and building materials
• food & consumable items
• professional services in laboratory certification and accreditation.

DM, having begun with just 3 operating employees, it has grown into an organization having more than 15,000 staff working in 32 organizational units, making it a major driving force in the development of Dubai City. With a vision of “Developing a happy and sustainable city” the Dubai Municipality is also instrumental in maintaining the architectural heritage of the emirate by revival and maintenance of many cultural landmarks.

The DM Dubai is currently composed of 34 departments under six sectors, namely:

1. Communication & Community Sector
2. Corporate Support Sector
3. General Support Sector
4. Environmental Health & Safety Control Sector
5. Environment & Public Health Services Sector
6. Engineering & Planning Sector

The services offered by these sectors are segregated into individual, government, and business-centric, with the focus of DM Dubai quality control on areas such as Environment and waste, Financial and business, building and land planning, lab testing and accreditation, Public health and consumer safety, drainage and irrigation, veterinary, agriculture and public markets services.

An example in planning assistance by DM

The DM Dubai has a planning division that allows streamlined submissions to be made from the user end and a legislative system in place to demarcate its jurisdiction to acquire the Dubai Municipality Approval. One example of planning assistance is guidelines for the submission of a Master plan for building plan proposals. Here, the applier submits a draft proposal for preliminary assessment that covers ownership, on-site, and surrounding region description. Following this, a final assessment submission requires Non-Objection Certificates from the concerned local authorities (Dubai Police, Civil aviation, Road transport authority, Dubai Electricity and water authority, etc.) Finally, the DM provides a “sign off sheet” to all service authorities to get Dubai Municipality Approval for their masterplan.

After completing all these procedures, a follow-up application needs to be filed online at the Dubai Municipality which consists of paying the application fee as well. 

Non-Compliance crackdowns – Serious Quality Assurance

The year 2011 was a dramatic one for the DM. This was primarily due to the disconnection of utility services to many residential, industrial, and commercial buildings as a result of illegal modifications, partitions, and additions that were made. Warning notices were first sent following which heavy fines were levied to discourage non-compliance. Repeated offenses meant that utility services to the offenders were cut through the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority - DEWA. Sometimes unauthorized changes to buildings also run the risk of lack of fire exits or basic health requirements and ambiance quality like lighting and ventilation. Once corrective action was taken, the services were restored to these locations.

Ask any person around you ‘where can a place with all the luxury and ultra-modern infrastructure be found?’ The answer will surely be ‘Dubai’. Isn’t it amazing to witness everything full of life when you take a peek at your surroundings? Obviously, it is!!! And the best part is that you can be a part of this experience. It can be regarded as a human psychology that once you experience something you feel is out of this world, you automatically go in a state of awe, and you start to complement the beauty.

But the matter of fact is that no one tries to compliment the efforts behind making that place worth watching. For instance, BurjKhalifa amazes everyone by the whopping height it is standing at, but no one compliments the efforts of various public bodies and authorities who worked day and night to make the project possible. One of the authorities is the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority – DEWA, which is committed to make Dubai a place full of energy and fun. Let’s take a look at how DEWA has been, and is, committed to making Dubai a place to live in luxury.

• Defeating the Masters of the Game: DEWA has defeated the major players like the USA and UK in the global race of reducing the power and water transmission losses. The losses in power transmission and distribution as reported by DEWA are only 3.3%  while the USA and UK have reported their number at 6-7%. Also, the losses in water distribution are only 8% as compared to 15% in North America. These figures definitely prove DEWA to be a potential competitor in the global market.

• Expanding the M-Station: DEWA is currently working on to expand its electricity generation and desalination plant – M-station. The project has the current capacity to generate 10,000 MW of electricity and a desalination capacity of 470 million imperial gallons of water per day. The expansion, once completed in 2018, will boost the current capacity to 2,760 MW in order to meet the requirements of Dubai.

• World’s largest Single-Site Solar Project: DEWA is operating the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park, which is the world’s largest single-site solar project. The project was launched in 2012 and its first phase was completed in October 2013 with a capacity of 13 MW. The second phase with a capacity of 200 MW was to be completed in April 2017 but because of the hard work and efficient management of DEWA, the plant was commissioned on 22 March 2017, ahead of the official commissioning date. With a total investment of about AED 50 billion, the plant will have a capacity to produce 1000 MW by 2020 and 5000 MW by 2050.

• Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy in 2015. DEWA is working on this initiative wherein they are planning to provide 7% of Dubai’s total energy from clean sources by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050. That means the majority of the energy used in Dubai will be from clean sources by 2050.

• Smart Dubai Initiative: DEWA has introduced three smart initiatives to make Dubai a smart city. The initiatives are the Shams Dubai initiative, The Smart Applications and Meters initiative, and the Green Charger initiative. Shams Dubai initiative focuses on builders to introduce the use of photovoltaic solar panels in order to generate electricity. The generated electricity can be used to meet the self-demand of the building and the excess electricity can be exported to DEWA. The Applications and Meters initiative promotes the efficient use of renewable energy. The Green Charger initiative focuses on Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS).

• Future Visions: Dubai will be hosting the World Expo 2020 and DEWA has already started working on it. With a theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum believes the Expo will be first of its kind and no will have ever witnessed any such thing. In order to make this vision possible, DEWA has already allocated AED 3 billion to boost renewable energy projects, meet the highest international standards, and prove its excellence to the world.

With time, Dubai is emerging as one of the best markets in the world. If you are looking to invest and set up your own projects, then Dubai should be your first option. So don’t waste your time any further and start your dream project in Dubai – The Dream World. You just need to get some approvals from various authorities in Dubai. Dubai Approvals will make it even easier for your DEWA Application. Our team will help you with a step-by-step process so that you can get DEWA Approvals for your projects in a short span of time and give wings to your vision.

Dubai is one of the most favorite destinations of every person in the world. With new technologies and innovations being introduced every now and then, Dubai proudly holds the title of “The City of Future”. People from all around the globe come to Dubai to experience a better lifestyle but moving into Dubai was not that easy always. As Dubai was emerging as an international hub, it was attracting people from everywhere but the only problem was that foreigners were not allowed to buy properties. EMAAR made it possible for every person, irrespective of his/her citizenship, to own a property in Dubai. As most of the landmark locations in Dubai are masterpieces from EMAAR, so, let’s take a look at the 4 best engineering projects of EMAAR Dubai:

• Burj Khalifa: Imagine you wake up in the morning and when you look out of the window only to witness you are much higher than the clouds. That single feeling can give you happiness and confidence for the entire day. The tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, was inaugurated in January 2010. It is 829.8m tall with a total of 163 floors. Initially named as Burj Dubai, Burj Khalifa was named after the ruler of Abu Dhabi – Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The construction of Burj Khalifa has created a milestone in the history of the world as it gives out a loud message of how human capabilities have no boundaries.

• Dubai Fountain: One of the landmarks of Downtown Dubai, Dubai Fountain is the second largest choreographed fountain system in the world. EMAAR Dubai had organized a naming competition for the fountain and the name “Dubai Fountain” was selected. It was inaugurated in May 2009 with a length of 902 ft and the capacity to shoot water up to 500 ft in the air. Located in the artificial Burj Khalifa Lake, it is equipped with 6600 lights and 25 colored projectors. When it is accompanied by musical beats, Dubai Fountain leaves you with heart-full of pleasure and amusement.

• The Dubai Mall: Dubai Mall is the largest mall in the world inaugurated in November 2008. It is the most visited building on the planet with an average of 54 million visitors every year. With an internal floor area of 5.9 million sq. ft., it is packed with 1200 shops, 22 cinema screens, 250 luxury hotel rooms, 120 eateries, and over 14000 parking spaces. In short, it has an entire world present in itself.

• Dubai Marina: Dubai Marina is one of the top-notch projects of EMAAR. It is an artificial canal city currently under construction. The construction of the Marina has been divided into phases with Phase 1 already been completed. When the construction will be completed, Dubai Marina will be the largest man-made marina in the world. It includes many landmark locations in itself such as The Dubai Marina Towers, Jumeirah Beach Residence, The Walk, Al Sahab, Al Majara, Marina Promenade, Marina Quays, Dubai Marina Mall, etc.

EMAAR has not only utilized its innovative ideas to construct a luxurious Dubai, rather, it has always piloted unique projects around the globe. Though based in UAE, EMAAR has extended its reach by spreading across various countries like India – EMAAR India, Egypt – EMAAR MISR, Pakistan – EMAAR Pakistan, etc. Also, Emaar Community Management is the only organization outside the USA to become an Accredited Association Management Company providing professional association and community management services.

If you are also planning to buy a property in Dubai and are confused with the approval processes from various authorities of Dubai, including EMAAR approval, we are here to help you. DubaiApprovals team will provide you step by step information for getting approvals for your projects without any hindrance.