Dubai: Dubai is set to begin the construction of its mega drainage system dubbed “the project of the century” with the first stage of it getting a go-ahead.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, has approved Dh1.3 billion for the implementation of the first stage of this rainwater and groundwater drainage project that will be equivalent to the total area of Deira, said Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality.
The project will serve Al Maktoum Airport area, the Expo 2020 area and the nearby urban complexes covering 400 square kilometres.
Lootah added that the second phase of the project is under consideration for approval, which will raise the total cost of the project to Dh2.5 billion.
“The project involves collecting and transporting of rain and groundwater through underground tunnels into the Gulf waters for disposal as a long-term solution to tackle the issue of rainwater drainage for the 100 years to come,” he said.
Talib Julfar, assistant director general of the Municipality for Environment and Public Health Services Sector, expressed his great pleasure in launching this mega project in conjunction with the opening of Expo 2020, which confirms that there is a creative vision and a qualitative development in the Middle East, especially that this project will benefit Dubai for 100 years without maintenance.
Mohammad Ahmad Al Rayes, acting director of Sewage and Irrigation Department, said the rainwater drainage system will be able to discharge 6 million cubic metres of water, equivalent to 2,600 Olympic swimming pools, at a rate of one minute to complete pumping of one of these pools.
“This capacity will be enough to protect Al Maktoum Airport, the Expo 2020 area and the surrounding areas from the risk of rainwater harvesting that will affect development operations, cause disruptions, and stop activities, in addition to the technical aspects of the project.”
“The new project will the government save millions of dirhams per year that was used for operations and maintenance of the usual infrastructure used in solving such problems. It will also rationalise land consumption for public and commercial activities and will save about 30 per cent of the electricity that could have been consumed in the case of the usual systems,” he said.
Al Rayes pointed out that the project includes the establishment of a main line for the collection of rainwater to serve the airport area and Expo 2020 area of the project that is equivalent to the total area of Deira area.
It includes digging of two tunnels with depths ranging from 40 to 50 metres with a diameter of 10 metres and 10.5 kilometres long extension pipes. The project has been assigned to the contractor to start implementation.
Al Rayes added that the underground rainwater drainage lines will be built using innovative tunnel technology and thus minimising the damage of construction works.
“Developing this strategic tunnel is vital and the latest tunnel technology will ensure that during the implementation period, it will minimise the structural damage on the ground, including roads, traffic and other facilities,” he said.
