04 March 2006
Dubai: Dubai is spending more than Dh25 billion to improve the city's road, traffic and transport services, said the chief of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
The plan has allocated Dh15 billion for Dubai Metro and Dh10 billion for roads, traffic and public transport. "People will detect a visible difference in Dubai's roads and transport within two years," said Mattar Mohammad Al Tayer, RTA Executive Director. "But we need the public's understanding and patience."
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Al Tayer said the authority enjoys the full support of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. "The road system is a top priority for Shaikh Mohammad," he added.
Al Tayer said the RTA, since its establishment in November, has worked on a masterplan to ease congestion and cope with the rapid growth of Dubai as a major business hub.
"A business hub will always be busy and we are doing our best to maximise the comfort of residents. But we cannot promise magic solutions," Al Tayer said. The plan was approved by the Executive Council in January.
The RTA has also merged projects to save time. One of the main objectives is to put in place a world-class public transport system and to encourage people to use it. "We have also hired reputed international consultants to help us prepare infrastructure development plans for ongoing and future projects," Al Tayer said.
The major overhaul of its road and public transport infrastructure in the next two years aimed at ensuring smooth traffic flow.
The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has embarked on some major projects focusing on improving traffic movement and road networks by implementing short and long-term plans.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is monitoring the projects and has given instructions to speed up all development work related to roads, the easing of traffic and improved public transport, said Mattar Mohammad Al Tayer, Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of RTA.
"We have full support from Shaikh Mohammad to launch our projects and that is why he has created the RTA to come up with traffic solutions to cope with the current and future development needs of Dubai," he said.
During an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Al Tayer revealed the RTA's plans to ensure smooth traffic movement on roads in the city, which he said had become a business and leisure hub.
"Traffic congestion means delay and delay means waste of time, which means waste of money and a negative impact on economic development," Al Tayer said while speaking at length about the RTA's plan in his first comprehensive interview after taking charge of the new authority.
Full support for plan
Soon after its establishment in November last year, the RTA presented Shaikh Mohammad with its plan to solve Dubai's traffic problem. "We have got clearance and full support to implement our plans," he said.
Shaikh Mohammad has given instructions to merge various projects and speed up the work. Explaining the master plan consisting of five major elements, the RTA Chief said the authority had prepared a plan covering five major sectors.
"We have also hired internationally reputed consultants to help us lay out our plans to develop the right infrastructure to deal with traffic issues," he said.
The RTA has launched separate studies to analyse the situation and implement its plans accordingly.
One part of the plan is to review the strategic plan for transportation and traffic. Through this study, the RTA is reviewing data and inputs by various departments regarding the traffic situation in the city. After completion of the study this month, the RTA will prepare a traffic and transportation model for the next 15 years until 2020.
Water taxis
The second part of the plan is a study on launching water transportation services in Dubai.
A new mode of transportation consisting of water taxis will be introduced once the project is launched. It will be one of the major contributors to ease traffic congestion in the city. It will be implemented within one and a half years.
The third part of the greater plan is improvement of public transport services. The study has already started in January and will be completed in October this year. The RTA has earmarked Dh100 million to buy new buses, including articulated vehicles and luxury VIP buses to encourage people to use public transport.
The authority has also hired urban transport planners to review existing routes and introduce new routes in Dubai to cope with the increasing number of users.
The fourth part of the plan is to carry out much needed "short-term projects." The RTA has already completed the study, which identifies bottlenecks and other road problems causing traffic congestion.
Global consultants hired
The authority has hired 11 global consultants to analyse the study and give the best solutions to ensure smooth traffic movement. There will be a competition amongst the consultants and the one who gives the best solution will get a prize of Dh1.5 million. The second prize is Dh1 million while Dh500,000 will be awarded to number three position.
"We will put all these solutions together and launch a project for the quick improvement of road networks ... We will continue to cater to smaller problems whenever and wherever they emerge," Al Tayer said.
Some of the quick solutions, which are currently being carried out are the widening of Karama underpass and the addition of more lanes in the World Trade Centre underpass, some changes on Al Maktoum Bridge and the replacing of some roundabouts with intersections.
The fifth and final part of the major plan is the study of parking needs in Dubai.
Through this study, which will be launched this month and end in July, Dubai's parking problems and needs will be studied. Projects to solve parking problems will be launched after analyses of the study.
Legislation planned to improve road network
Dubai: No decision has so far been taken to implement the much-talked about road toll system in Dubai. "It is still just an idea," says the RTA chief.
The Roads and Transport Authority is working on drafting legislation to introduce some new systems to ease traffic, said Mattar Al Tayer. The authority, he added, will complete its new road projects and then seek legislation for the systems.
"Under the legislation, which will be an important part of traffic solutions, we are studying options. Some of these are the introduction of a toll system, a dedicated bus lane, car sharing and banning the use of cars which are more than 10 years old," he said.
He reiterated the toll system was just one of the options and was not finalised yet. But he made it clear that no new system would be implemented unless the authority was convinced it would be beneficial for the public and actually help motorists. "We will not do it for the sake of collecting money," he said.
He said the private sector would also be involved in Dubai's road and traffic network projects. "We will outsource some of our services to ensure smooth implementation of our projects," said Al Tayer.
Be patient during the constructionof Dubai Metro
Although the Roads and Transport Authority has prepared a comprehensive road diversion plan to minimise traffic, residents should expect some inconvenience considering the large-scale of the construction work.
"We will not give surprises to people during the Metro construction, which has already started at some points. We have in fact already started informing people regarding the possible road diversions and construction near their locations," said Mattar Al Tayer, Executive Director of the RTA.
He said there would be no digging for underground metro lanes because drilling of viaducts would be done using special machines. There will be digging for underground stations while construction of ground stations and elevated tracks will be visible.
Benefit in the long run
"I would be lying if I told you that people will not be affected during construction work. This is the most prestigious project in Dubai and at the same time, it is not going to be easy to carry it out in the city, which already has its services and infrastructure in place. So please bear with us and show some patience because it is going to benefit you all in the long run," he said.
He said the metro would cater to at least 17 per cent of the projected 35 per cent who will be using public transport, including buses and water transport.
The number of cars registered in Dubai has already crossed the 600,000 mark and there has been an annual increase of 10 per cent. This is in addition to vehicles coming to Dubai from neighbouring emirates and even other GCC countries. There are three cars for every 10 people. It means every third person has a car in Dubai.
He said the RTA had no immediate plans to restrict car ownership but was working on other projects to resolve issues related to the traffic.
New crossings to be built over the Creek
Dubai Creek will have a total of six crossings within the next few years to ease traffic flow, said the Road Transport Authority Chief. Mattar Al Tayer said the RTA was studying plans for two more crossings over the creek. Currently, there are three crossings, the Al Shindagha Tunnel, Al Maktoum Bride and Al Garhoud Bridge while Ras Al Khor Bridge, the fourth crossing, is under construction.
It will open in 2007.
"We have decided to merge our projects and will simultaneously launch them to save time. Currently, our consultants are studying details. It is still to be finalised whether we should build bridges or tunnels across the creek," he said. The fifth crossing will be near the Sheraton hotel while the sixth will be after the under construction Ras Al Khor Bridge.
Dubai-Sharjah traffic woes
A major road improvement project to ease traffic between Sharjah and Dubai on the Al Ittihad Road will be finalised in three months. The RTA will spend around Dh1 billion on the major project. It will be completed within one-and-half-years after its launch. The RTA will also review the opening of the Al Mamzar Road. The Al Mamzar Road was closed soon after its opening because of a negative impact on traffic in some residential areas of Dubai.
Role of media
The Chief of Dubai Roads and Transport Authority has urged the media to play a positive role in educating people on traffic issues. "Some English newspapers in the UAE [not Gulf News] are writing exaggerated reports about Dubai's roads and traffic issues without investigations," Mattar Al Tayer said.
He said these newspapers should present the right picture and should not ignore the government's efforts towards improving the road, traffic and transport system in the city. "They write exaggerated stories just to sell their product instead of playing a constructive role," he said.
The Roads and Transport Authority's plan consists of the following elements:
By Mohammed Almezel and Ashfaq Ahmed
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
