Residents of areas in Dubai have complained about the inconvenience caused by the construction work at night, because they exceeded the noise limit, while statistics issued by the Dubai Municipality showed that the Municipality received 2,561 complaints related to the noise of construction work at night since the beginning of the year.
The maximum noise allowed in Dubai, according to the emirate's environmental protection regulations, is 55 decibels from 7 am to 8 pm and 45 decibels from 8 pm to 7 am.
The most common complaints were overnight concrete pouring, a procedure requiring the contractor to obtain a work permit from 8 pm to 6 am.
The Municipal Building Supervision Department grants the work permit at night at the sites under construction, a service that allows the project contractor to obtain approval for the implementation of the construction work at night during certain hours, and for a specific period of time, after the approval of the consultant, while meeting the requirements and specified in the application.
According to the municipality, the permit is granted to the contractor on a monthly basis and is canceled in case of repeated violations of noise levels.
According to a circular issued by the municipality on noise pollution prevention systems, any noise resulting from work sites shall not interfere with the safety and comfort of any person, stressing that the specific standards for this noise must comply with the standards and requirements contained in the environmental protection regulations in the emirate. .
The municipality defined noise as the voice that unacceptably affects the quiet or comfort of any person, except the person or persons in the shops where the noise is issued. It emanates from any instrument: musical instrument, radio program, electric instrument, microphone, mechanical vehicle, motorized machinery, equipment or machinery when operating in any place and near populated places.
She confirmed the right of anyone to inform the emergency department of the municipality about the noise, to notify the noise control officer and to take appropriate action on the complaint.
In the event that the inconvenient does not comply with the municipality's instructions, the noise control officer may reserve the annoying machine, remove any piece of it to render it unable to work, or temporarily close, seal or confiscate it, and transfer it to the municipality's warehouses.
The Municipality's Environmental Department has completed the second phase of the project to study and monitor noise levels in the emirate, which included the installation of a network of stations monitoring noise levels, consisting of 10 stations, distributed in different locations in the emirate, based on the recommendations and outputs of the first phase of the project, which included A detailed study included a comprehensive survey of noise levels in more than 400 locations and areas in the Emirate.
The survey covered residential areas, surrounding areas of hospitals and educational institutions, tourist attractions, main streets and roads, surrounding areas of airports, metro and tram lines and other areas.
“In the event that the noise driver does not comply with the municipality's instructions, the noise control officer may reserve the annoying machine.”