DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (BLOOMBERG) – Dubai will spend AED18 billion on building a new metro line as the Middle East’s premier business and tourism hub looks to expand its public transport system amid a surge in the city’s population.
With 14 stations across its 30 kilometre length, the new blue line will connect the city’s Dubai Creek Harbour district with International City and Dubai International Academic City, the Government of Dubai’s media office said in a post on the X social media platform. The new line will start operations in 2029, the agency said.
Contracts for the new train line’s construction will be awarded in 2024, according to the government’s post. Part of the route will be underground, and will include a 44,000 square meter subterranean station in International City. The line will connect the growing number of residential districts in the east of Dubai.
The expansion of Dubai’s metro network is a central plank in the city’s growth plan and is essential to alleviate pressure off the already congested road network.
Dubai’s population has surged in the past three years, with a slew of reforms including easier long-term residency rules and visas for freelancers and job seekers attracting young people from Europe and the Middle East. That, along with bankers relocating from Asia and employees of multinational companies moving from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, has driven up rents and caused gridlock in the city.
Dubai opened its first metro line in 2009, with the second beginning operations two years later. The oldest, dubbed the red line, runs almost the length of the city along the Persian Gulf, while the green line runs east from the main Sheikh Zayed Road to the Al Jadaf area. Dubai also has a tram that runs along the coastal communities of Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence.
Once complete, the blue line will expand the city’s rail network to 131 kilometres with 78 stations.
