Khorfakkan administrative division complete, to be announced soon: Sheikh Sultan

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, announced that planning for the new administrative division of Khorfakkan has been completed, noting that it will be announced soon.

Sheikh Sultan also revealed that a study is underway for a project to level the summit of Al Aween Mountain and develop a residential area there to accommodate a large number of people, stressing the need to give areas names that symbolise positive things.

Sheikh Sultan said in a phone-in on the “Direct Line” programme: “Just as we planned the city of Kalba, we have also planned the city of Khorfakkan, but the plan has not yet been published. Khorfakkan is a city surrounded by mountains on all sides, from Al Hawami to the mountains, and towards the sea, south and north, ending at Al Aqaba at the entrance to Al Luluyah."

"All these neighbourhoods are neighbourhoods of Khorfakkan, not suburbs of Khorfakkan. We have a suburb called Al Subaihiya, which I gave this name because there was an old spot at this location called Al Subaihiya. However, part of Al Luluyah and part of Al Zubarah had overtaken it. We therefore wanted to give Al Subaihiya its due and made it a suburb encompassing Al Nakheel, Al Luluyah, Al Zubarah and Hasi.”

The Ruler of Sharjah explained that opposite Al Subaihiya is Al Haray, which is an area where snakes are found. His Highness questioned whether the name referring to snakes should be retained and how the area's residents would pass the name on to their children, stressing his keenness to give places names that symbolise something good.

Sheikh Sultan added: “In this area, we have the large Al Aween Mountain, which extends from Victoria School to Al Ghazir. It also includes Al Ashqar neighbourhood. Al Ashqar is a mountain, and the Arabic meaning of the word Al Ashqar does not refer to the colour blonde; rather, it is the name of a type of mountain whose soil is characterised by a light-brown colour. The word Al Ashqar is an adjective describing mountains. God willing, this area will be reorganised, leaving only two suburbs in this area. There is no other space remaining in this spot, so we are now studying the possibility of going up into the mountains.”

Sheikh Sultan concluded by revealing that a study is underway to establish a new residential area in Khorfakkan, saying: “Since the largest mountain in this area is Al Aween Mountain, which dominates all the surrounding areas, we are now studying the levelling of the summit of this mountain and the construction of a residential area on top of it.”