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56 numbers fetch Dh1.5m at auction

Bidders at the Quality Quarantee Hall at the traffic department in Deira was modest as expected, and the Car Number Auctions Committee said that was the reason auctions would stop in the summer, to be continued in September.

Brigadier Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Director of Dubai Traffic Police Department, supervised the auction. He said the committee had ensured that various number selections were offered to meet bidders' requirements. He said the decision to stop the auctions in the summer was taken as large numbers of people leave the UAE on vacation. Auctions of low base value car numbers are held at the Quality Quarantee Hall at the traffic department in Deira, and the auctions of high base value numbers are held at the Dubai Police Officers Club. Brig. Zafeen said on Wednesday's auction fetched Dh 1.532,000. The base value of all numbers offered was Dh 614,000.

On Wednesday's auction had four selections, the first selection had nine three-digit numbers of a base value of Dh 35,000 each. They include 108, 109, 132, 134, 145, 985, 986 and 987.

The second selection has 18 five-digit numbers of a base value of Dh 10,000 (like 122222, 133333 etc). The third selection has 16 four-digit numbers with a base value of Dh 5,000 (like 2822, 2922 etc). The last selection has 13 four-digit numbers of a base value of Dh 3,000 (like 1080, 1090 etc). Captain Walid Al Bannai, Head of the Vehicle Licensing Section, called on the motoring public planning to travel outside the UAE by road to change their car number plates with the new code-based system, when renewing registration. He said priority would be given to motorists travelling outside the UAE and to the owners of customised numbers.

Officials reminded the motoring public that the changing of number plates will be free of charge as all old plates that have the Burj Al Arab Hotel drawing would be replaced with the new number plates that have Latin letters.

However, motorists changing the number plates before the expiry of their car registration would have to pay the required fees.

Any person, nationals and expatriates, can own unlimited numbers of customised numbers. Ownership certificates are governed by the rules and conditions governing civil transactions.

Brig. Zafeen, who heads the auction committee and himself oversees the issue of ownership certificates of car numbers, said preparations were already underway to re-start the auctions in September.

He said auctions had become quite popular especially among youths. Police recently revealed a plan to replace Dubai numerical code number plates with Latin letter-based number plates within a year.

A partial replacement process had already been started by the department, as a full fledged replacement operation would begin in July.

On May 19, the first auction for Code E customised car number plates fetched some Dh7.8 million.

The new plates will be given to car owners for free till all old plates were all replaced. Officials said car owners who did not take the new plates when they renewed registration recently because of the lack of new plates would not lose their right to free number plates to replace the old ones.

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