"Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism" More than 40 new sites are included in the modern cultural heritage register

ABU DHABI, 15th February, 2018 (WAM) – The Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi has included more than 40 new sites within the initiative to preserve the modern cultural heritage in the emirate, ensuring their protection and preservation under the law.

These additions complement the first group of buildings and sites identified in 2022, and reflect the results of systematic efforts that extended over the past three years (2023-2025) to document and preserve modern cultural heritage in Abu Dhabi.

This ever-increasing number of registered sites embodies the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi’s ongoing commitment to protect, preserve and enhance sites of cultural importance, in line with the Cultural Heritage Law of 2016, and the strategic goal of the culture sector in the emirate, which is to preserve and celebrate cultural heritage, enhance national identity, and increase public appreciation for Abu Dhabi’s diverse heritage assets.

This expansion also confirms the department’s pioneering role in enhancing heritage preservation efforts and raising the level of awareness of the modern cultural scene in the emirate.

His Excellency Saud Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Undersecretary of the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, said: Abu Dhabi’s modern heritage constitutes a fundamental pillar of our cultural identity, and reflects the emirate’s continuous growth and development. Through the official registration of these important sites, we affirm our commitment to recognizing, protecting, preserving and celebrating this architectural and urban heritage, because of its role in shaping our societies and enhancing our collective sense of belonging to the place.

He added: The continuous expansion of the modern cultural heritage register confirms the commitment of the Technical Committee to submit nominations for modern cultural heritage to ensure the protection and preservation of these vital assets for future generations. This continuous progress also embodies our conviction that modern cultural heritage constitutes an essential bridge between the past and the present, and confirms that Abu Dhabi’s march towards progress and the future derives its strength from the stories and places that define our roots and history.

While many of the emirate’s residents are associated with these modern heritage sites because of the sentimental value and personal memories they hold, the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi seeks to encourage them to play a more active role for society in identifying, nominating and protecting these sites, as this approach reinforces the concept that modern cultural heritage is a shared collective responsibility that various segments of society contribute to its preservation.

As additional sites are included in the Register of Modern Cultural Heritage, priority will be given to their conservation and rehabilitation in accordance with the classification grade approved for each site.

As part of the procedures followed, owners of listed buildings were officially notified of the classification decision, with the right to file an objection within a period of 15 days, as stipulated by law.

Among the new additions is the former Abu Dhabi International Airport – Terminal 1, which opened in 1982. It is a landmark from the early era of the country’s aviation sector and represented a pivotal moment in the development of air connectivity and infrastructure in Abu Dhabi.

The sites also include the Al Ain Museum, which was established in 1969, and is one of the oldest cultural institutions in the country, which has always been an essential reference for the country’s archaeological and ethnographic heritage. Another notable site is the old National Consultative Council building in Abu Dhabi, which dates back to 1968, and played an important role in shaping the features of early governance and civil dialogue during the founding decades of the federation.

The Modern Cultural Heritage Preservation Initiative of the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi aims to preserve sites of cultural, architectural, historical, societal or scientific importance, which have contributed to shaping the cultural identity of the emirate.

This comes in line with the Cultural Heritage Law issued in Abu Dhabi in 2016, which focuses on protecting, discovering, preserving and managing the emirate’s cultural heritage, and creating records for both tangible and intangible heritage, while acknowledging the inclusion of modern cultural heritage within its scope. Within the framework of this initiative, the Department of Culture and Tourism will continue surveying and documenting the built environment in the emirate, with the aim of identifying and registering additional sites to be officially listed, protected and preserved under the law.

The new modern cultural heritage list includes His Excellency Mohammed Habroush Al Suwaidi Building, ZADCO Building, His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Mohammed Al Nahyan Building (La Brioche Building), His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Tower (Corniche Building), Madinat Zayed Bus Station, Al Raha Beach Rest House, Corniche Hospital, UAE University Student Housing – Al Kuwaitat Complex, the Green Market in Baniyas, the Green Market in Al Shahama, and the Khallad Bin Suwaid Mosque. Al Ansari Building, Hussein Rashid Al Hajri Building, the National Consultative Council, the former Downtown Clinics Building – Al Ain, the Al Ain City Municipality Complex, which includes the Al Ain City Municipality, the City Planning Sector, and the Capital Park Urban Group, which includes: the Capital Park, the Park Tower, the Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Center for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Hili Archeology Park, the Al Nayadat Resthouse, and the former Abu Dhabi International Airport “Passenger Terminal No. 1”, SABIS® International School – Al Bateen, the former Dalma Island Post Office, the East Sir Bani Yas Water Tank, the South Sir Bani Yas Water Tank, the water tanks on Dalma Island, the Dhanna City Water Towers, the International School of Choueifat – Al Ain, Rawdat Al Jouri, Emirates Post – Khalidiya Post Office, Emirates Post – Hamdan Post Office, Emirates Post – Industrial Area Post Office in Al Ain, and Al Dhafra Sports and Cultural Club, The Cedar Fountain from the Lebanese Community – Abu Dhabi, the Flower Clock from Geneva – Abu Dhabi, the Al Ain Museum, the Al Murabba Police Museum, and the Islamic English School – Abu Dhabi.

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