UAE. An outdoor slope where people could ski in a swimsuit is the centrepiece of an ambitious plan to transform Ras Al Khaimah within a decade.

RAK city and the wider Emirate would be redeveloped with new residential areas, motorways, a wildlife reserve and an outdoor warm weather ski hill, said Michel Sakkal, Director General of RAK Public Works.

"We have a clear vision of how RAK will look in the future with all the developments coming up, so there will be no surprises. We know everything that will be done on the coastline so that we can plan for it and we know everything that will be done internally as well.”

Large public beaches would remain while a new creek through the old city would offer new spaces for waterside living, shopping and recreation.

But the most spectacular change to the landscape would be the commercial development of the Hajjar Mountains. The plan calls for hotels, residential and commercial properties, a golf course, bike trails, and an outdoor ski hill.

An Australian company will help to develop the resort, which will feature "snow that can stand 35 degrees C so you can ski in your swimsuit," Sakkal said in an interview for The National.

"It's a unique location in the whole Gulf region,” he said. "Humidity is nil and even in August, you don't need air conditioning.”

While further details on the resort were not available, Sakkal said he expected some opposition to the plan. "In the beginning, you always face opposition and criticism but once the things are there everybody likes it.”
The new Al Jais Mountain Road, already under construction, will allow access from Emirates Road to the summit of Al Jais at the Oman border. The road has been completed to an altitude of 1,000 metres and Sakkal estimates that it will reach the 1,900-metre summit in two years. Work on the mountain-top development would begin once the road work is done.

Another significant development is Noor City, a AED3.67 billion (US$1 billion) island near the Kuwaiti Street Corniche that will feature three resorts, cafes and boutiques, and will accommodate more than 150,000 people.

Private land owners in areas earmarked for development would be offered shares in the new developments based on land values. The city's archaeological department was working with Public Works to identify and preserve key historical buildings, Sakkal said.

Jazeera al Hamra, a site that was inhabited as early as 2000BC, will be bought and preserved as a traditional village.

Two new industrial zones will also be created. Al Ghail would see a mix of light and medium industry, with heavy industry going near Saqr Port where quarries and cement factories were already located.

To balance economy with environment, a large wildlife reserve is planned for Hulayla, South of the port.
The RAK government will continue to address its electricity shortage problems, and will build a power plant near the industrial zones.

Sakkal said he did not foresee any difficulty with water supply. "We have a water line coming from the desalination plant in Fujairah and when we [begin] generating electricity there will be a desalination plant as well.”

The key to the developments was a new roads system, which included upgrades to Al Jais Mountain Road, Ittihad Road, Emirates Road and the Ring Road, he said.

"This will solve all our problems because all the traffic will go on the Ring Road on the outside. This should have been completed by now, but hopefully it will be completed in 2011.”

Traffic congestion will be eased when Oman Road is expanded to three lanes. "We have to catch up. With all our plans, there is a lot to do.” The Corniche will also undergo a transformation.

"We will have around ten restaurants and cafes on the Corniche itself. It will be a landmark. At the Cultural Centre, we will increase parking spaces and do a small public garden as well. In Rams, there will be another Corniche.”

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