The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City was established in 1962 as the "Department of Abu Dhabi Municipality and Town Planning". In 1969, a royal decree was issued to appoint the first municipal board for the city of Abu Dhabi, with the task of providing comprehensive services to the public and ensure proper planning of the developing city, with regularized road networks, maintenance services, sewerage, lighting works, launching the Agriculture Development Plan in the Emirate and establishing public markets in various areas. With the ongoing growth of the Emirate, it was decided, in 2005, to merge the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain Municipality, Works Department, Agriculture and Animal Production Department of Al Ain into the Department of Municipalities and Agriculture, to create a streamlined administration and to provide a higher standard of service to the customer. In May 2007, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, issued a law establishing the Department of Municipal Affairs as an umbrella body overseeing the three administratively independent municipalities, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain Municipality and Western Region Municipality. The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, has since its inception, developed a number of key objectives, notably the implementation of projects aimed at establishing modern infrastructure for the city including bridges, drainage systems, road networks, modern means of transportation, consolidation of comprehensive development projects. It has also simultaneously been moving towards attaining the goals set out by the development plans.
