11 January 2005

DUBAI -- The Dubai Light Rail Transit (LRT) project is drawing enthusiastic response from countries in the region, even as the project's technical team is getting ready to award the contract for its electro-mechanical works very soon to one of the five consortia that submitted the offers.

Qassim Sultan, Director-General of the Dubai Municipality, who chairs the Higher Committee for the LRT project, said he was confident that the project would be completed within the scheduled time as the project is well on track now.

"There is effective co-ordination between the LRT team and top builders in the emirate so as to ensure a smooth implementation of the project, as well as all other major ongoing projects," he said, following a meeting of the LRT Higher Committee on Sunday evening at the Dubai Municipality.

Sultan noted that there was stiff competition among top companies that submitted offers for the project, and the results would be announced soon after the ongoing evaluation is completed. He said the technical team had completed evaluation of the offers for electro-mechanical works. The offers for underground civil works have already been received while the offers for on-ground civil works are expected to be fully received by the end of January, after which they would be evaluated in detail before awarding contracts.

"The LRT project has been divided into two segments -- the electromechanical works, including all mechanical works and supply of rolling-stock, and (ii) the civil works, including construction of tunnels and bridges. Offers on the mode of financing the project shall be fully received by the end of March," he said.

Sultan, meanwhile, said that works of the project at the site of the Dubai International Airport have already been underway and they were expected to be over by the end of this year. "We will soon announce a major international contest for designing a logo for the Dubai LRT project. At the same time, the Higher Committee, during its next meeting, will define the vision and mission of the project," he noted.

The meeting was attended by Major General (Retd) Sharafuddin Mohammed Hussein; Saeed Al Sharid, Director-General of the Emirates Transport Corporation; Mattar Al Tayer, Assistant Director-General of the Dubai Municipality for Roads and General Projects Affairs; Dr Khalifa Mohammed Hareb, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the UAE University; and Nasser Ahmed Saeed, Director of Roads Department at the Dubai Municipality and General Coordinator of the project.

The Dh12.5 billion project reflects the keenness of Dubai to establish a high standard infrastructure which will meet the requirements of and facilitate the rapid economic development of the emirate.

Sultan said that the construction of the project will not affect the flow of traffic, since the 10-metre-wide work sites will be at a distance from the roads. The underground works for stations and metro will be carried out without affecting buildings, Sultan said, and added that residents will not be disturbed by the excavation work.

The project's first phase is a 35km stretch from Rashidiya to the American University in Dubai (AUD) to be finished in May 2009. The second phase will cover some 32km from the American University to Jebel Ali, and the second line, which will be constructed from Dubai International Airport to Dubai Medical City, is expected to be completed by 2012. The train will transport more than 23,000 passengers per hour.

The project is of immense significance to the emirate, as it is designed to meet the growth in the population, estimated at 6.5 per cent annually. The population will increase from 1 million in the current year to 3.5 million in 2020, he explained. With the rise in population, there will also be a proportional increase in the number of vehicles on Dubai's roads.

By a staff reporter

© Khaleej Times 2005