Dubai Begins Tunnelling For $5.6 Billion Metro Blue Line

Dubai (PlantAndEquipment.com) - The Metro Blue Line, a significant infrastructure project worth over AED 20.5 billion ($5.6 billion), has begun tunnel construction in Dubai. This is a significant step in growing the emirate's public transportation system.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the ambitious project, emphasizing the role that transportation infrastructure plays in sustaining the city's long-term development and competitiveness in the world.

The 30-kilometer route, which would have 14 stations with a combination of elevated and subterranean parts, is intended to service nine neighborhoods that, according to the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, are estimated to have a population of around one million.

With almost 10,000 workers and hundreds of engineers working on the project, it is presently around 20% finished. Stations and bridge constructions, including a 1.3-kilometer metro bridge that crosses Dubai Creek, are under construction.

With the help of sophisticated monitoring and control systems, a tunnel boring machine has been set up to start excavation, moving forward at speeds of up to 17 meters per day.

The Blue Line will enhance transportation across important residential, business, and academic districts, such as Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai Academic City, by connecting with the current Red and Green lines.

When the line is finished, it should offer direct links to Dubai International Airport in around 20 minutes and alleviate traffic congestion along its corridors by about 20%.

As part of Dubai's larger plan to improve sustainable transportation and urban connections, the project is expected to be finished and open in September 2029.