Dubai to get four water transport lines this year

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Dubai - The four new lines will link Deira Night Market with Al Ghubaiba Station and the Waterfront Market Station.

By Staff Reporter

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Published: Sun 25 Apr 2021, 12:03 AM

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will open four water transport lines extending 10km this year as the city looks to beef up its marine transport network.

The four new lines will link Deira Night Market with Al Ghubaiba Station and the Waterfront Market Station. The three other lines will link Dubai Creek Project with Dubai Festival City Station, Blue Water Station with the marine transport network at the Dubai Marina, and the Heritage Village with Jaddaf Station and Dubai Festival City Station.


The four lines will extend the total length of the network to 89 km.

Under a master plan running up to 2030, Dubai RTA plans to expand the marine transport network by 188 per cent to 158km by 2030, with passenger lines rising 400 per cent to 35 lines, the authority said Saturday.


Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, director-general, chairman of the board of executive directors of the RTA said the marine transit fleet would be beefed up by 32 per cent to reach 258 means, and the number of marine transport stations would see a 65 per cent rise to encompass 79 stations by 2030. “Marine transport is an integral part of the public transport network in Dubai. It ferries about 14 million riders every year and the sector is witnessing a sustained growth in the number of means, stations and riders,” he said.

Despite challenges posed by Covid-19, 8.049 million riders travelled by marine transport last year.

Al Tayer added, “The marine sector is expected to expand considerably with the completion of construction works in urban and tourist facilities on both sides of the Dubai Water Canal and other waterfront development projects.”

In 2020, the marine transport network increased 24 km to reach 79 km. Moreover, five abras from the new generation of wooden traditional abras were deployed to bring the total number of RTA’s marine transport means to 55 vessels.

“RTA also started the trial run of five traditional abras powered by Biodiesel 5, which is officially approved in the UAE. The initiative, which was run in collaboration with ENOC, yielded extremely positive results,” stated Al Tayer. Biodiesel 5 is efficient in recycling waste, reducing gas emissions and conserving the environment; thus, it contributes to Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy. RTA had also launched a new generation of wooden traditional abras replicating the same design as the existing abras with high security and safety standards.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com


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