Dubai Metro rail begins work
July 02
Dubai
The first pier for the Dubai Metro rail has been installed on Sheikh Zayed Road between the sixth and seventh interchanges.
According to the Gulf News, its construction represents an important event for the project since it is the first structure, which can be seen by residents and drivers on Sheikh Zayed Road.
The pier has a diameter of 1.75 m and a height of seven metres. A total of 1,205 piers will be erected along the metro's Red Line by mid-2007.
The piling work for pillars is expected to be performed at a rate of one pile per rig per day.
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Int'l firms will maintain and operate Dubai Metro
Khaleej Times - July 05
DUBAI — The Dh15.5 billion ($4.2 billion) Dubai Metro will be maintained and operated by international firms through a joint venture agreement with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). "We have gone to the marketplace and invited well-known international firms to bid for this work.
The RTA will make a public announcement in due course as the tender evaluation is presently under review," an RTA official told Khaleej Times.
The projected cash flow for the Dubai Metro is also described as "healthy." Specific details of the financing arrangements were sketchy, but will be "funded through various mechanisms including, but not limited to, metro stations sponsorship schemes." The official said: "We have received numerous approaches by private developers wanting to sponsor some of our stations because they realise the strategic importance of our railway stations to their businesses."
There will be 42 stations and, according to published reports, at least 15 of them look likely to be financed through sponsorship schemes.
The RTA commercial and investment department is also working with international consultants to develop Dubai Metro Land plots, the official said.
Late last year a representative of the Dubai Municipality denied reports that money had been borrowed to finance the project and said it was completely government financed.
However, many similar projects internationally are funded using project financing. This means that repayment is based on the future cash flows of the project.
Dubai Metro is also described "not as a nice-to-have project" but as a "need-justified" one. Although there have been no studies of what it would cost Dubai not to have a metro, such a study was considered unnecessary "as the prima-facie of traffic gridlocks and traffic pollution is staring everyone in the eye." Dubai is already plagued by traffic jobs especially at peak hours resulting in lost business hours and traffic pollution.
"The modernity of Dubai as an international city is also tied up with the implementation of Dubai Metro," said the official.
The Dubai Metro will be built in three phases. The first phase, known as the Red Line, will be completed by September 2009. A milestone in the construction of this line is said to be the construction of the first pier for the elevated route near Jebel Ali village at Shaikh Zayed Road, which is planned for June 29, 2009.
The RTA official also said that the RTA is planning to start phase two of the project, known as the Green Line, early, and that a contract announcement would be made shortly.
The RTA is also planning a railway network throughout Dubai to connect the major business centres and minimise the impact of traffic congestion. Final details will not be made available until the planning studies are completed, the official said. The aim is to provide a fully integrated transport system.
In line with this there are also plans to have a common ticketing system so that the ticket is transferable and can be used on any mode of transport.
It is being benchmarked against other international cities such as London, Singapore and Paris.