DUBAI 30 August 2017: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice -resident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved several future projects by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), after reviewing their details and strategic importance.
They include a project to develop Al Khawaneej Road and an updated plan to construct walking paths along Dubai Creek, as well as a project to develop Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Road and other projects linked to the Expo 2020 Dubai, said Wam.
Other projects include the development of Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Road and Umm Al Sheif Street, the external inspection results of the Al Shindagha Tunnel, and the introduction of bus lanes on external roads.
During the visit to RTA premises in Al Ramool area, Sheikh Mohammed also viewed the Dubai-Al Ain Road project, which aims to raise the capacity of the road from 6,000 vehicles per hour to 12,000, for both directions.
He also approved a project to pave the internal roads of the city, in both residential and industrial areas, starting on 2018 and finishing on 2024 and with a total length of 320 kilometres, to meet the requirements of an increasing population and local urban and industrial development.
Sheikh Mohammed also approved a planned project to upgrade five metro stations, to answer the increasing and heavy demand of metro users, who number 650,000 passengers per day.
The other projects viewed by Sheikh Mohammed include several road projects and the upgrading of local group transportation systems to keep pace with the requirements of Expo 2020 Dubai after the RTA conducted six studies, as well as 10 other ongoing projects.
The most important project related to Expo 2020 Dubai is the Enterprise Command and Control Centre, or “EC3 Project,” which was launched in May, as well as other road projects around the Expo site and the intersections of Dubai International Airport Road.
Another vital project that was reviewed and approved by His Highness is a project to construct bicycle lanes around the streets of Dubai, with a planned total length of 500 kilometres by 2021, to encourage exercise and decrease the use of cars and the resulting carbon emissions.
His Highness also viewed a new system, used for the first time in the UAE, to measure the dimensions and weights of trucks on the Hatta-Dubai Road, as an experiment with the aim of decreasing traffic accidents and fatalities caused by trucks due to their excess cargo, by adopting a modern technological system to monitor these trucks.
Before leaving the headquarters of the RTA, Sheikh Mohammed met with its female employees and greeted them for Emirati Women’s Day. He also congratulated them for their accomplishments.
His Highness praised the RTA’s efforts to empower women and provide them with all the elements of success and professional creativity in various departments. Commemorative pictures were taken of His Highness and the senior female staff, who numbered over 100 while the total number of national female employees in the RTA is around 600.
He was accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Creative Clusters Authority and Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation.
“All the essential and key projects being executed by the authority will be completed ahead of Expo 2020 Dubai,” said Mattar Mohamed Al Tayer, RTA General and Chairman.
Dubai will host the Expo 2020 for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021, in a grand event expected to attract around 25 million visitors, with around 150 countries from around the world participating.
By Rajive Singh