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Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has invited contractors to express interest in a contract to upgrade the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station expansion.

The notice was issued on 6 January with a deadline of 10 January.

The design-and-build contract covers the lift and station expansion works, including demolishing and replacing the existing pod entrance with a three-storey building. The new entrance will provide links to the Dubai Mall link bridge at the concourse level and a direct connection to the Rashidya platform.

The project will add three new hydraulic lifts and four escalators. The concourse level will be expanded to include a connection to the link bridge and 10 new retail units.

The project will also add two new hydraulic lifts and escalators within the Sheikh Zayed roadside extension serving the UAE Exchange platform.

The Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station expansion was first tendered as part of the RTA’s plan to upgrade four Dubai Metro stations in 2018.

Subsequently, the expansion works on the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station were put on hold, whereas the construction on the Damac, UAE Exchange and Dubai Internet City stations was completed in 2021.

Local firm Al-Shafar General Contracting undertook the expansion works.

Traffic at the Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall station peaks on New Year’s Eve. In an official statement published by the Emirates News Agency, the RTA said that on New Year’s Eve, the Dubai Metro accommodated over 1 million passengers across its Red and Green lines, while the Dubai Tram transported 55,391 passengers.