Dubai: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, visited the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) head office on Wednesday. He was briefed on various infrastructure projects being implemented in preparation for World Expo 2020.
Shaikh Hamdan was briefed on the authority’s projects by Engineer Mattar Mohammad Al Tayer, Chairman of the board and Director General of RTA. One of the projects is “Route 2020”, which spans a distance of 15km. The route will include seven metro stations heading to the World Expo venue in Jebel Ali, and will pass through Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Estate and Dubai Investments Park.
The authority will also build the necessary intersections to serve the World Expo venue, such as Al Yalayis Street, development of Jebel Ali Al Habbab road, expanding the final section of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road, developing Academic City road, developing intersections on roads near the venue, and building a parking lot that will be able to accommodate 44,000 cars for visitors of the expo.
Al Tayer said that the authority will also be increasing the capacity of Dubai International Airport road in order to accommodate the expected increase in passengers. Dubai is expected to receive 92 million passengers by 2020. Developments will also be carried out on the Al Rashidiya and Airport road intersections with Marrakech street, Dar Al Bayda street and Nad Al Hammar street.
Shaikh Hamdan was also briefed on the road and transportation system unified control centre in order to manage the flow of transportation to the World Expo venue. The authority is also looking into utilising the most advanced technologies in the field of smart transportation to implement the driverless car initiative. Shaikh Hamdan looked into the 1,200 metre long aerial lift project that will link the metro stations in Dubai Creek and Dubai Festival City. Other projects include the development of Al Wasl and Jumeirah roads, which involves the construction of walkways and cycling tracks.
Shaikh Hamdan expressed his satisfaction with the projects, and praised the efforts of the RTA chairman, engineers, technicians and administrative staff.
