Dubai: $3.3 billion metro project awarded

The Dubai government on Sunday awarded a $3.3 billion contract to a consortium led by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to set up a high-tech passenger rail network across this emirate. 

The deal to construct a fully automated metro was signed by Dubai Municipality, which is leading the project, and a representative of the consortium of four companies.

The metro will include two lines (Red and Green) covering the main locations across Dubai and will feature elevated and underground sections. Construction is due to begin in July, press reports have indicated.

The Red Line will initially run from Salahuddin Rd (close to Al Ghurair Centre) to the American University of Dubai through Burjuman and Sheikh Zayed Rd, and will progressively be extended to Jebel Ali Port in the south and the intersection of Al Nahda and Damascus roads through Al Qiyadah intersection in the north.

The Green Line will initially run from Al Ittihad Square (close to the Municipality) to Rashidiya bus station through Deira City Centre and the Airport Terminals 1 and 3, and will progressively be extended to serve the Deira and Bur Dubai central areas and Souks up to Burjuman and Wafi shopping centres.

The first phase of the project, which comprises a 52.1km line between the city's airport and the industrial and port free zone of Jebel Ali, is projected to be launched in September 2009.

The full 69.7km long rail link across Dubai is to be completed in less than five years, said the municipality's director general Qassem Sultan.