Dubai Municipality , yesterday , opened Al Khazan Park, the first Dubai park to run completely on solar power. It is part of an ongoing drive to make Dubai parks more environment-friendly and energy-efficient.

The park does not use electricity from the main grid, relying instead on solar power for lighting and irrigation pumps. Even the office and washrooms run on underground batteries charged by an on-site solar grid.

Al Khazan Park, which first opened in 1980, is named after the 40-metre-tall water tank centred in its garden. The re-launched Al Khazan Park has become the first Dubai park to run completely on solar power. Another attraction of the park is the variety of local plants, including the protected ghaf tree. Many ghaf trees from other areas have been replanted .

The municipality is also opening new parks, including at least two this week(as part of the municipality?s Plantation Week 35)  to increase green space and leisure options for residents.

The focus on green space is continuing alongside Dubai?s urban development. Last year, Dubai Municipality announced plans to spend Dh6 billion to transform the emirate into a ?green paradise? by 2025. That includes expanding the irrigation system to increase landscaping projects around the city.

There was roughly 7,000 hectares of green space in Dubai last year. Officials want to increase it to more than 12,000 hectares in time for Expo 2020 through landscaping and horticulture projects.

Sources :

Gulf News

Emirate 24/7