Metro tunnel work to begin in January

Dubai: Tunnelling for the underground section of the Dubai Metro will start in January 2007, said a senior official.

"A tailor-made tunnel boring machine (TBM), which has already been assembled in Japan, will reach Dubai in November this year," said Adnan Al Hammadi, Director of the Construction Department at the Dubai Metro Agency of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The machine has been manufactured to bore through hard rocks or sand layers. "Residents will not feel any impact of tunnelling work because there will be hardly any vibration," said Al Hammadi. The RTA has already completed the survey and determined the route of the tunnelling work.

The machine is named 'Al Bugeisha' after the small desert rodent found in Asia and North Africa.

"The tunnel boring for the underground part of the Red Line of the Metro will start in January 2007 at Union Square in Deira towards BurJuman Centre," said Al Hammadi.

The tunnel will pass under the creek up to a length of 1.6 km at a depth of 30 metres.

TBMs are used as an alternative to blasting methods and has the advantage of minimum disturbance to the surrounding soil.

Two lines to total 69.7km

The Dh15.5 billion Dubai Metro project has two lines, Red and Green, with a total length of 69.7 km.

A total of 12.3 km of the lines will be underground.

The Red Line, which is currently being constructed during phase one runs from Rashidiya Station to Jabel Ali Station, is 52.1 km long. It will include 4.7 km of underground metro line and 47.4 km elevated line.

The Green Line, which will be constructed during phase two, is 17.6 km long including a 7.6km underground line in the business district areas of Dubai. Around 9000 workers will be involved in the Dubai Metro project construction work from January 2007.