Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has been allocated AED7.6bn ($2.1bn) budget for 2016 even while it forecasts 2016 revenues to reach AED7.5bn.

Roughly half of this budget will be allocated to infrastructure projects, with the rest allocated to operational expenditure, according to Mattar al-Tayer, RTA director general.

The infrastructure budget will be allocated to 55 projects, comprising 12 new road projects and 43 projects currently underway.

The rail sector has been allocated the largest share of the total budget at 37 per cent, or AED2.8bn.

Projects currently under execution, and which RTA plans to complete in 2016 include:

• Dubai Water Canal
• Union Museum
• Wafi interchange
• Improvement of: Umm Al-Sheif and Latifa bint Hamdan roads junction, Dubai International airport junctions, Shindagha hub, Al-Wasl & Jumeirah roads, entries of Al-Awir Road and International city, cycling and running tracks

The new projects include the widening of Latifa bint Hamdan road, parallel roads , improvement of the 7th Interchange of Sheikh Zayed Road, and improvement of Seih Assalam Road Project (Phase II), according to RTA.

The RTA has been studying the funding options for Route 2020, the metro link to the Dubai Expo 2020 site, which is due for award in early 2016. It is understood that the agency has been lining up commercial banks for the financing of the metro link, which regional projects tracker MEED Projects estimates to have a budget of $1.3bn.

Earlier this month, the RTA has also said it plans to convert 50 per cent of Dubai’s taxis to hybrid vehicles by 2021 in line with the emirate’s carbon emissions reduction programme.  There are about 147 hybrid taxis in DUbai as of 2015 and the number will incrementally increase to reach approximately 4,750 vehicles by 2021, the RTA said.

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