The UAE’s Ministry of Public Works (MOPW) is planning to spend more than AED12bn ($3.2bn) on road projects before 2030.

A recently approved strategy involves enhancing the federal road network and connect all cities in the UAE by freeways.

“We are investing to maintain the UAE’s roads to international standards and keep ourselves number one in the world for roads,” says Zahra al-Aboodi, undersecretary at the MOPW. “The UAE is growing fast and traffic problems are increasing.”

The projects are currently in the planning and design stages.

Road projects worth AED1bn are currently under execution. These include improvements in connections between population centres and sea, land and air ports to improve the flow of goods.

Some of this budget will be spent on improving and upgrading existing roads. All federal roads now reserve a corridor to expand them to six lanes in each direction should the extra capacity be needed.

The MOPW is also focusing heavily on preventative maintenance to avoid costly corrective maintenance. The ministry surveys and maintains 800 kilometres of roads on a regular basis.

This process will be made easier by a $7m control centre in Ras al-Khaimah, which will coordinate traffic and emergency repair operations. It is currently under construction by the local Al-Holy Contracting & Construction.

This is one of the steps being taken towards preparing the UAE’s federal road network for private investment.