The road corridor needs a major overhaul before projects on Reem , Suwa, Saadiyat islands and the Mina area to the east of Abu Dhabi island are completed.

According to the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 urban masterplan, these four projects will have a resident population of about 370,000, together with the existing population of 190,000 in the central business district.

The largest contract, worth AED3.2bn ($871m), was awarded to South Korea's Samsung Corporation in a joint venture with the local Saif bin Darwish to build a 2.2 kilometre-long cut-and-cover tunnel running under Salam street and leading onto Mina road. The works also involve the construction of 1.2km of roads leading to and out of the tunnel.

The other contract was awarded to Kuwait's Mohammed Abdulmohsin Kharafi & Sons. The AED800m ($217.8m) package involves the construction of two interchanges on the eastern ring road that leads onto Salam street from the Maqta bridge area.

The interchanges will allow traffic to flow freely from Maqta bridge on to Salam street. The consultant for both schemes is US-based Parsons International.

Last year, Turkey's Nurol was awarded a AED620m contract to build two inter-changes.

Abu Dhabi Municipality is the client.