Dubai Ruler orders new projects worth $1.2bn

23 December 2012

Sheikh Mohammed approves Deira Souk expansion project and suspended canal

Building on the rising confidence in the emirate’s property sector, Dubai ruler’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has ordered the implementation of two projects worth AED4.5bn ($1.2bn).

The plans include a AED3bn facelift for the Deira Souk area, as well as a AED1.5bn suspended canal to link Dubai Creek extension to the Gulf through Jumeirah, Dubai Media Office said on 21 December.

The Deira Souk expansion project will stretch four kilometres between Dubai Creek and Al-Hamriya port in Dubai, and will be handled by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. It will comprise six hotels, residential and trade towers, a yachting marina and cargo storage areas. It will involve a makeover for Dubai Souk to include a new skyscraper towering over Dubai’s historical heritage areas.

The suspended canal replaces the previous plan to build a waterway on the ground and will extend from Business Bay to the Jumeirah coast, rising above the level of Dubai Metro and Al-Safa Park, Dubai Media Office said.

Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority has invited contractors to bid by 4 February for the first major construction package on the extension of Dubai Creek. It is still unclear whether this will now be cancelled to take into account the new plans.

On 27 November, Dubai announced plans to build a new tourism megaproject that will house the largest shopping mall in the world and more than 100 hotels. Mohammed bin Rashid City will be located between Emirates Road, Al-Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road. The development was the largest of several new major real estate schemes that have been made public in Dubai in 2012.

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