The Dh4.08 billion contract for the phase 2-Green Line of the Dubai Metro project was recently awarded to the Mitsubishi-led Dubai Rapid Link (DURL) consortium by Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
The project involves construction of a 20 kilometers loop that will connect Dubai International Airport with Deira, Bur Dubai and Rashidiya, according to reports by the Middle East Economic Digest.
The phase 2 contract was placed as an option to the Dh12.45 billion contract awarded to DURL in June 2005.
The United States' Parsons International and France's Systra will oversee construction of the project, while Australia's Bovis Lend Lease will provide project management services on the client.
The Dubai Metro will be built in three phases, while the first phase of the project, known as the Red Line, will be completed by September 2009.
With the goal of providing a fully integrated transport system, the RTA's planned railway network throughout Dubai will connect major business centers and therefore ease traffic congestion in the area.
Upon completion in 2012, Dubai's Metro rail system will be the longest fully automated system in the world. An increase of public transport market share is targeted from the current 4.7 per cent to over 17 per cent over the next 15 years.
