Pakistan Association Dubai centre 1,800 bricks away from completion

Inching closer to the completion of the Pakistan's largest community centre in the GCC, the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) announced that the upcoming Pakistan Medical Centre (PMC) is 95 per cent complete.
On Friday, over 300 community members from the Pakistani community along with the Consul-General of Pakistan, Ahmed Amjad Ali, took part in a 'brickraiser' campaign titled 'Own a Brick'. It offers community members a chance to pledge support for the centre by owning single or multiple bricks for PMC that cost Dh1,000 each and become a part of a larger cause.
The campaign was endorsed by prominent playwright and ambassador of Pad, Anwar Maqsood, who flew from Pakistan to rally support for the centre.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the event, Pad president Dr Faisal Ikram, said: "The construction of the two-storey building, which will replace the existing PAD office building in Oud Metha, is 95 per cent complete and we are hoping it will be ready by the end of the month. The inauguration of PMC is expected by the end of the year."
Dr Ikram said: "Since Anwar Maqsood has been our ambassador for this cause and was the first artist to do the brickraiser when we first launched the project in 2016, we brought him back once again to motivate community members to pledge some more bricks for the PMC. We have a deficit of 1,800 bricks which we are hoping to close soon."
On Friday, Maqsood ,through his prose and poetry session, invoked patriotic feelings among the community members and requested them to show love for their country by pledging more bricks to help complete the PMC. Almost 2,000 bricks were pledged on Friday.
“Once complete, PMC will be open to all nationalities and serve people of all backgrounds and contribute to the UAE's vision of tolerance and social cohesion. As a community, we have joined hands to fulfill our dream to build a centre of excellence which will be a source of pride for 1.5 million Pakistanis residing in the UAE,” Dr Ikram said.
Facilities
PMC building will house an office block, a mosque and a restaurant on the ground floor, while the first floor will have a medical centre, fitness and rehabilitation centre, meeting rooms and a children's play area.
saman@khaleejtimes.com