Dubai-based firm DBB Contracting has won a contract from Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) for the development of the Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Al-Nahyan Street intersection with Al-Awir Road and Al-Manama Street.

The scope includes the construction of 2.3 kilometres (km) of bridges, lane expansion, and the provision of entrances and exits serving the surrounding areas.

The project will increase the street’s capacity from 5,200 vehicles to 14,400 vehicles per hour in each direction. It will reduce travel time from 20 minutes to five minutes.

The project will serve areas with a combined population of over 600,000 residents and visitors. The mobilisation works are ongoing. The project is slated for completion by 2028.

In March 2021, the government launched the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. Its launch referenced studies indicating that the emirate’s population will reach 5.8 million by 2040, up from 3.3 million in 2020. The daytime population is set to increase from 4.5 million in 2020 to 7.8 million in 2040.

In December 2022, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the 20-Minute City Policy as part of the second phase of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.

In addition to the road projects, the RTA’s Dubai Metro Blue Line extension forms part of Dubai’s plans to improve residents’ quality of life by cutting journey times, as outlined in the policy.

The policy aims to ensure that residents can meet 80% of their daily needs within a 20-minute walk or bike ride. This goal will be achieved by developing integrated service centres with all necessary facilities and by increasing population density around mass transit stations.