Major facelift is planned for Sharjah park

Plans to boost tourism destinations in Sharjah.

View of Al Jazeera Park in Sharjah, which will be closed for the major redevelopment work.

SHARJAH // Al Jazeera Park in Sharjah is to undergo a major facelift as part of plans to redevelop tourist destinations in the emirate.

The park, on Al Arouba Street, was closed last week as preparations to start the makeover work get under way, said Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, the chairwoman of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

"We will soon announce the development plan for Al Jazeera Park after completing the final touches to the strategy and time schedule," she said.

"We are confident that the project will add significantly to the already extensive list of the emirate's attractions that truly makes Sharjah the cultural capital of the Arab world."

Opened on October 21, 1979, Al Jazeera Park covers 13,000 square metres on an island in the Khalid Lagoon, opposite Sharjah Central Market.

It also features a small zoo.

Although details are yet to be announced, the park renovation plan comes a few months after the opening of Shurooq's Al Majaz waterfront project.

"Shurooq is still savouring the great success the Al Majaz waterfront has achieved and the huge public turnout it has received," said Marwan Al Sarkal, the chief executive of Shurooq.

"Hence we believe that the development of Al Jazeera Park is timely, especially in view of the park's growing need for development so as to meet the demands of visitors and tourists."

Mr Al Sarkal said the upgrade would make the park "a regionally competitive tourist attraction and an important destination that will richly enhance Sharjah's tourist landmarks".

The development, which will be supervised by Shurooq, will be in cooperation with the Sharjah Municipality, the Department of Public Works, the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority, and a number of other government and private bodies.

Shurooq is also supervising the Heart of Sharjah project, the Chedi Khor Fakkan Resort, the Kalba Eco-Tourism project, and manages Al Qasba, the business and leisure complex.

Mohamoud Hillal, a Sharjah resident who frequents the park, welcomed its redevelopment.

"The park is good, but furnishing it with extra public amenities, like restaurants, would make it better," Mr Hillal said.