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Local contractor Wade Adams has won a contract from Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) to construct the Al Khaleej Street Tunnel as part of the Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement programme.

The construction works have started and are expected to be completed by 2026.

The project is the fourth phase of the Al Shindagha Corridor Improvement programme and involves the construction of a tunnel 1.6 kilometres long and with three lanes in each direction.

The scope of the contract also includes developing a signalised intersection at Cairo and Al Wuheida Streets and connecting it to the Dubai Islands bridge and the Al Khaleej Street Tunnel.

“The project will serve the residents of Abu Hail, Al Wuheida and Al Mamzar along with development projects like Dubai Islands, Dubai Waterfront, Waterfront Market and Hamriya Port,” Mattar Al Tayer, director general and chairman of the RTA’s board of executive directors, said.

US-based engineering firm Parsons is the project consultant.

Planning for growth

In February, the RTA awarded a AED700m ($190m) Al Khail road improvement project contract to Wade Adams.

The contract covers the road enhancement works across seven locations along the Al Khail Road in Dubai, including Zabeel, Meydan, Al Quoz One, Ghadeer Al Tair and Jumeirah Village Circle.

Earlier this year, RTA selected Beijing-headquartered China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for a AED332m ($90m) contract to upgrade Umm Suqeim Street with an 800 metre-long tunnel.

The projects are part of Dubai’s plans to improve residents’ quality of life by cutting journey times, as outlined in the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan policy.

The master plan was launched in March 2021. Its launch referenced studies indicating that the emirate’s population will reach 5.8 million by 2040, up from 3.3 million in 2020. The daytime population is set to increase from 4.5 million in 2020 to 7.8 million in 2040.

In December 2022, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the 20-Minute City Policy as part of the second phase of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.

The policy aims for residents to have 80 per cent of their daily requirements within a 20-minute journey time, on foot or by bicycle. This goal will be achieved by developing integrated service centres with all the necessary facilities and increasing the population density around mass transit stations.