Dubai: A new driving school, Dubai’s seventh, opened in Al Warsan on Wednesday, boosting the city’s driver training capacity considerably.

The Emirates Transport Driving Institute (ETDI) opened its doors with a capacity to train 200 drivers per day at a 40,000 square metre facility.

The demand for driving licences continues to grow, with more than 1,200 candidates appearing for a road test daily and several others waiting for weeks to appear.

Hundreds take driving classes daily and an addition of 70 more training vehicles offers learners more options.

The centre will have 50 more training vehicles soon, said Mohammad Abdullah Al Jarman, general manager of Emirates Transport (ET), which is operating the new driving school.

“This project is part of our strategic initiatives towards enhancing road safety standards and increasing awareness levels through providing high quality teaching and training of drivers, in cooperation with some of our strategic partners, including Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Police,” said Al Jarman.

He announced that all training vehicles at the school will be powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).

He added that the institute has already acquired membership of the UK-based Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

Al Jarman said that with Emirates Transport having 30 years’ experience and expertise in training professional drivers, the school will look to tie up with transport fleet owners and other commercial establishments to train their drivers.

Ahmad Hashem Behroozian, CEO of RTA’s Licensing Agency, who attended the opening ceremony, said that the high standards and latest technologies available at the school will help train safer drivers.

ETDI joins six other schools — Al Ahli Driving School, Emirates Driving Institute, Galadari Motor Driving School, Dubai Driving Centre, Belhasa Driving School, Drive Dubai.