The plan, announced last month, to build a new mini-city called Mamoura located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai raised the question for a few historically minded people of what landline number prefix such a place might be assigned. Under the current system, which dates back more than 50 years, Abu Dhabi uses the 02 prefix for landlines, Al Ain has 03, for Dubai it is 04 and 05 is for mobile numbers. Three emirates further north use 06, and so on.
The missing number prior to this sequence, 01, was originally reserved for the planned construction of the city of Karama, a development between Dubai and Abu Dhabi envisaged in the early 1970s period of nation-building. But the Karama project never moved beyond the drawing board and 01 has been vacant ever since, putting the new, not-quite-midpoint city potentially in the frame for the designation.
Mamoura was described as a $15bn "full-scale small city" in the making by Mira Developments, who say the plan is to deliver more than 16,000 apartments and villas, as well as hotels, a mall, hospital, museums, schools and universities to a site that could almost be seen as a bridge between the two emirates. The developer told The National it was “the best location” in the whole of the UAE.
The 01 prefix question is best answered by saying "it doesn’t matter", because landlines are not the first thing that spring to
Continue Reading on The National UAE
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.