Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has integrated a minimum revenue guarantee to the financial structure of the Union Oasis project, relieving the selected developer of the burden to pay a fixed base payment against investing in the project.

While this amendment will be subject to a specific set of provisions, it is understood to have made the project more attractive to prospective investors and developers.

The amendment is in line with “ensuring resiliency in dealing with developers and investors by adding new design techniques and models,” according to Abdul Mohsen Ibrahim, CEO at RTA’s rail division.

The RTA has also extended the deadline for the submission of prequalification documents for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the project to 28 February.

This is the second time the deadline has been moved. The original deadline was set for September 2015 and later moved to 3 December 2015.

The Union Oasis mixed-use development is a flagship public-private partnership (PPP) and transit-oriented development (TOD) scheme launched by the RTA. It is to be located above the underground station where the Dubai Metro Red and Green lines meet.

The project will be procured under the auspices of the emirate’s new PPP law, approved in November 2015. It is also the first TOD project launched in the region.

RTA’s rail division accounts for the largest share of the agency’s 2016 budget, at 37 per cent of the total, or approximately AED2.8bn ($0.8m).