Dubai’s newest Hindu temple being built in the city’s Jebel Ali area celebrated a construction milestone recently with the toping out of the structure.

The temple building includes two basements, a ground floor and first floor. It will feature a 4,000 square feet function hall that can accommodate a gathering of 775 people approximately, and a smaller 1,000sqft multipurpose room for events with up to 100 people.

The trial opening of the temple is scheduled for July-August this year and the building is on track with construction and fit-out for its official opening in October during the Dussehra festival, said media reports.

The topping out of construction was recently marked with a prayer service at the temple, which will be home to Hindu deities in accordance with the religious beliefs of the UAE Hindu community from all parts of India, said Raju Shroff, one of the trustees of the Gurudarbar Sindhi Temple in Souq Baniyas, Bur Dubai. The new temple in Jebel Ali is said to be an extension of the Bur Dubai temple, which is one of the oldest Hindu places of worship in the UAE.

The area in Jebel Ali in which the temple is being constructed also has other places of worship adjacent to it, such as the Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh temple and a Christian church.

Speaking about the construction, Shroff said: “We are ahead of schedule and are expected to complete in four months. From July-August, we’ll have a trial operation phase to put in place strict safety protocols.”

The temple building will soon see nine brass spires or “Kalash” - a metal or stone spire used to top the domes of Hindu temples – soaring on top of its roof as the day of its opening draws near. The spires have been specially imported from India, said Shroff.

“There will be nine ‘Kalash’ that will be part of the (ceremonies). The tallest kalash is 1.8m high and weighs about 120kg. The remaining eight are each about 1.2m high and weigh about 90kg,” he added.