The Purple line of the Dubai Metro could be shelved for up to a year, according to project sources, as the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) reassesses the emirate’s rail requirements.

Sources close to the scheme tell MEED that the RTA will focus on its rail masterplan this year before deciding which projects proceed. As a result, bidding for the main civil works contract on the Purple line, which had already been delayed from January to March 2009, could now be postponed until early 2010.

“The RTA’s focus is to find a consultant to oversee the master-plan, and we know that the consultant on the Purple line [US group Parsons Brinckerhoff International] is not working actively on the project at the moment,” says one source close to the project. “As we understand it, nothing will happen for six to eight months, maybe even a year.”

Whether or not the Purple line will survive in its current form remains uncertain. In recent months, the project has been delayed by a disagreement between the RTA and airport operator Dubai Airports.

The 52-kilometre-long, four-line metro is designed to link Dubai International airport and the new Al-Maktoum International airport, which is currently being built at Jebel Ali. Dubai Airports wants the intended route altered, insisting that the current scope of the project does not meet the city’s needs. Instead, it wants the line to link the two airports to the city’s main business and hotel districts. The current route of the line skirts around these areas (MEED 28:11:08).

The two government bodies have also been unable to agree on how the cost of the project should be divided between them.

The issue has become more acute as the economic downturn has taken hold in Dubai, while the estimated cost has escalated.

The budget for the metro line is more than AED40bn ($10.9bn), up from its original figure of $4.1bn in 2006 (MEED 24:10:08).

The emirate’s rail masterplan, which aims to determine Dubai’s rail infrastructure needs through to 2020, will now review the route of the Purple line. Housing and commercial projects along the planned route are also in doubt as the global recession takes hold and construction work is scaled back.

“The financial crisis is having a major effect here and everything is under review,” says another source close to the project. “We will have to see in the coming months which projects go forward. Everything has stopped dead.

“The rail masterplan will look at building a completely integrated rail network for Dubai, including the metro, light rail, and the UAE and GCC rail projects.

“Perhaps the RTA should have looked at this before, but doing this now gives it a chance to get ahead of the game and assess the needs of the city.”

The RTA was unavailable to provide a comment.