The study, design and tender preparation contract tendered by Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) includes work for the extension of both the Dubai Metro Green  and Red lines.

Firms are preparing to submit bids on 24 May to undertake the feasibility study, concept design, preliminary design, tender preparation and award, and design review and contract administration for both schemes, sources familiar with the project tell MEED.

The Green Line extension will extend from its terminus at Creek station in the Jadaf area, across to the Dubai Creek Harbour development and on to Ras al-Khor, International City, and Dubai Silicon Oasis, before ending at Academic City. The extension line will have 11 stations.

The Red line extension will link its terminus in Rashidiya to Mirdif City Centre. It will extend over 3.5km and will only have one station.

MEED understands RTA has been considering procuring the 12 stations on the planned extension projects using a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

RTA may also procure transit-oriented development (TOD) schemes on up to four of the planned 11 stations on the Green line. TODs comprise of commercial, residential and retail spaces in the proximity of transport hubs designed to increase public transport usage.

The Green line extension will boost Dubai Creek Harbour, which is being developed by local firms Dubai Holding and Emaar Properties. The six-square-kilometre development will have a large shopping mall and The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour, which, when completed, is expected to be the world’s tallest man-made structure.

The connection to Silicon Oasis and Academic City will catalyse further development in that area of Dubai.

The Green and Red line extensions are  two of the future lines the RTA is considering. In December 2016, the authority awarded UK-based Atkins a consultancy contract to update and modify proposed future metro lines and other public transport networks such as the tram.

The transport agency’s previous 2030 masterplan included a 421km-long railway network with 197 stations.

Dubai is already working on a 15km extension to the Red line. Last year, RTA awarded an AED10.6bn ($2.9bn) deal to design and build the Dubai Metro’s Route 2020 link to a consortium of Spain’s Acciona, Turkey’s Gulermak and France’s Alstom.

RTA said the Dubai Metro Red and Green lines attracted over 200 million riders in 2017, up from just 38.9 million in 2010, the driverless metro’s first full year in operation.

RELATED: Dubai obtains export credit financing for metro link