Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport (DoT) has appointed the UK’s Arup to update of the capital city’s surface transport masterplan.

The study, which is expected to take one year to complete, will involve updating the masterplan and strategy for all of Abu Dhabi’s surface transport.

An earlier masterplan that was commissioned in 2007 was prepared by the DoT with Mott MacDonald and the UK’s Steer Davies Gleave.

The transport masterplan will complement the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 urban masterplan that was updated in 2014 by the Urban Planning Council with Arup. It is understood that the updated document is waiting for approval from Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council.

The largest transportation scheme planned for the capital is the Abu Dhabi Metro and Light Rail.

In 2013 more than 400 construction companies submitted expressions of interest and attended briefings hosted by the Department of Transport. It was then expected that the project would be tendered in late 2013 or 2014.

The study to update the transport masterplan will be completed in late 2016, which means that tendering for the urban rail schemes is now unlikely to start until 2017.

There are two main components of the proposed rail system. The first is a single 18-kilometre line between Zayed Sports City and the Mina Zayed/central business district area. There will be 17 stations on the line, 13 of which will be elevated.

The second is two light-rail transit (LRT) systems and one bus rapid-transport (BRT) system. The first LRT line will run from Marina Mall to Reem Island. Known as the Blue Line, it will be 15km long and will have 24 stations.

A second LRT line will run from Karama to Saadiyat Island. Known as the Green Line, it will be 13km long and will have 21 stations.