Bids opened for Dubai Light Rail project

A Dh6.285 billion bid from the Rapid Link consortium represents the lowest offer made for the first phase of the Dubai Light Rail project, officials said.

“We have opened all the tenders in front of all of you because we want to keep the [bidding process] transparent,” said Qasim Sultan, director-general of Dubai Municipality yesterday.

He opened the base offers presented by the four pre-qualified consortiums at an event attended by consortium representatives, board members of the Dubai Light Rail (DLR) project committee and journalists.

“This is a very important day for Dubai,” he said prior to opening the bid envelopes.

The Metro One consortium submitted the highest bid, at Dh10 billion. The Dubai Star consortium’s base offer was Dh8.854 billion. The Salsabeel consortium’s offer was Dh8.922 billion.

“There is no final decision yet,” Sultan said. The municipality’s committee, made up of technical experts and consultants, would review all the offers and then announce the final winner, officials said.

“The committee will study the technical, financial and contractual details of the bids before making a final decision,” Sultan said.

The winner of the first phase of the DLR project will be announced in a few weeks.

“As per the directives of the Dubai government, we want to make the DLR project one of the best in the world,” he said.

The municipality’s work is progressing on schedule and it will finish the project within the given time, he said.

Replying to a question regarding financing of the project, Sultan said: “All options are open. We haven’t taken a final decision on funding of the project.”

Offers for the second phase of the tender would be received later, said Engineer Nasser Saeed, general coordinator for DLR and director of the roads department at Dubai Municipality.