Beijing-headquartered China State Construction Engineering Corporation has won an estimated AED800m ($218m) contract to construct a bridge connecting the offshore Dubai Islands development with Bur Dubai.

The project is being jointly developed by Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority and local developer Dubai Holding.

MEED understands that the deal was signed in the first week of January.

The two-way, 1,650-metre-long bridge has been planned for several years. It will have four lanes in each direction and a capacity of 16,000 vehicles an hour.

The bridge will be built between the Infinity Bridge and Port Rashid.

It will stand 15.5 metres above the Dubai Creek waterline with a 75-metre-wide canal allowing tall ships to pass. The project is set to be completed in 2027.

It is part of the larger AED5.3bn ($1.4bn) Shindagha Corridor Improvement Project, which is split into five phases and includes the construction of 15 intersections spanning 13 kilometres. US firm Parsons is the consultant for the Shindagha Corridor scheme.

Development of the offshore islands was given renewed impetus in 2022 when Nakheel released details of a new masterplan and changed the name to Dubai Islands.

The reclaimed islands were originally part of the Palm Deira project, which was partially completed but then put on hold in 2008.

Dubai Islands comprises five islands with a total area of 17 square km. The initial renderings show that the building development plans are more low-rise than the earlier Deira Islands scheme, and a golf course has been added to the masterplan.