DUBAI, 19 July 2004 — Dubai Municipality is to undertake a major road project at a cost of 750 million dirhams in Al-Khour.

The project is part of a comprehensive plan to upgrade the road network in the area to keep pace with the growing traffic volume in the emirate.

In a recent statement, Mattar Mohammed Al-Tayer, assistant director general of the Roads and General Projects at Dubai Municipality, said the project would include the construction of a 14.5-km road that links the first interchange at Sheikh Zayed Road with the airport tunnel.

“The execution of this project followed some intensive studies conducted by the municipality to determine the project’s impacts on reducing traffic jams in Dubai,” he told a local newspaper.

Al-Tayer noted that the project would be one of the most ambitious road plans in the emirate, as it would include about seven interchanges linking some major roads in Dubai.

The project is nearing the completion of the design stage according to Al-Tayer and construction work is expected to start in October. “The project should be completed within two years and is expected to be executed in three main phases.”

The first phase includes the construction of a flyover in Al-Khour area. The bridge, 1.5-km away from Al-Gharhoud Bridge, will branch into five roads in and will extend to the Dubai Festival City and Al-Ribat Road. It will also connect with Al-Marakish Road in the future, he noted.

The second phase of the project, Al-Tayer said that it would include widening Al-Ribat Road to six lanes. “Another interchange is to be built between Al-Ribat and Nad Al-Hamr Roads.”

The plan will also feature the expansion of Nad Al-Sheba Road that will link up with the Airport Road, while another interchange will also be constructed at Al-Ribat Road to serve the growing traffic flow toward Dubai.

Al-Doha Road will be upgraded as part of the third phase of the plan, he said, and the Al-Doha Road will service the local traffic demands in the emirate as well as the new areas around Burj Dubai and Dubai Financial City, among others.