The Canal stretches from the Business Bay district and crosses the Sheikh Zayed Road (between Safa and 1st Interchanges) and passes across the Safa Park, Al Wasl Road, Jumeirah 2, and Jumeirah Road to terminate at the Arabian Gulf. The construction of the infrastructure (construction of bridges and drilling of the canal course) amounts to about two billion dirham, and all construction works are set to be completed by 2017.

Sheikh Mohammed was briefed on the details of this unique urban tourist-cum- commercial project; which offers a new lifestyle in the heart of Dubai city. The ¨Dubai Water Canal¨ will add about six kilometres to the Dubai water front and the project provides an area spanning more than 80 thousand square meters designated as public realms containing vital facilities as well as convenient and excellent means to meet the needs of all community segments.

The Project encompasses new shopping and entertainment centres linked through a uniquely designed bridge and the project will add more than 450 new restaurants along with a wide array of luxurious marinas for yachts, and 4 world-class hotels. At the entrance of the Project from Sheikh Zayed Road, an iconic Trade Centre will be constructed comprising 4 levels, including one underground level and three elevated levels linking the Business Bay with the project zone in a total area of more than 50 thousand square metres.

The development of the waterfront will allow for the construction of deluxe residences and private marinas for boats along with pedestrian pathways, cycling tracks, together with fine business outlets, hotels and deluxe restaurants. The project will boost the position of the Jumeirah area as a premier and distinctive destination in Dubai. The project is expected to attract 20 to 22 million visitors per annum.

The ¨Dubai Water Canal¨ will have a depth of six meters and bridges above it will rise more than eight meters, offering free navigation for deluxe yachts extending up to 200 feet. The canal will contribute to renewing the water of the entire Business Bay Canal automatically without any need for hydraulic pumps. An extra flushing capacity will be added to the Dubai Creek when the Canal is connected to Business Bay, by approximately 250 million cubic meter per year.

The total tidal water exchange through the Canal is estimated to be around 800 million Cubic metre per year, and the Canal is anticipated to have a cooling effect, benchmarking to a similar Project “Cheong Gye Cheon” manmade canal in Seoul, where the recorded thermal reduction reached -3.6 C.

Explaining the project features, Al Tayer said: “Works in the project have been split into three contracts; the first and second relate to the construction of crossings over the Canal linking with the key roads intercepting the Canal course; which are Sheikh Zayed Road spanning eight lanes in each direction, and three lanes on each side of Al Wasl Road and Jumeirah Road. These crossings are constructed 8.5 meters above the water level, thus allowing for a free navigation in the canal 24 hours a day. The third contract encompasses the drilling and landscaping works as well as the construction of four pedestrian crossings. Four marine stations will be constructed to ease the mobility of the public and promote the public and tourist transport. The marine transit modes are expected to ferry more than six million passengers per annum, according to the marine transport plan in Dubai.

“The RTA will carry out a number of improvements in main roads network intercepting the course of the Canal, besides making some improvements at the surrounding areas such as Jumeirah and Safa; including the construction of service roads at the two banks of the Canal in the surrounding areas such as Jumeirah and Safa to ease the transiting between these areas. As for pedestrians, a free and safe navigation will be provided through the construction of four pedestrian crossings above the Canal including one bridge that contains convenient stores in addition to other tracks designated for practicing light sports such jogging and cycling across the two banks of the Canal. It also covers landscaping works on both sides of the Canal such as greens, benches, relaxation areas and a host of diverse tourist projects and facilities,” added Al Tayer.

Despite a new wave of transport infrastructure schemes, Oman still lags behind neighbouring GCC states

Oman has taken significant steps towards developing its transport network, which will include a national railway and the country’s first dual four-lane motorway. But Muscat still has some catching up to do compared with the more advanced transport projects in the rest of the GCC.

The UAE is close to finishing its first phase of a national railway, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have awarded billions of dollars-worth of construction contracts in recent months.

In contrast, Oman’s plans to build a national railway stalled midway through last year after it was decided the project would be retendered. The scheme is now gathering pace again. Consultants submitted bids for the project management contract on 26 August and earlier in the month Italy’s Italferr won the $37.3m contract for the preliminary design work.

There has also been a spate of road contracts awarded in recent weeks. In August, packages five and six of the $2.6bn, 260-kilometre Batinah Expressway scheme were both awarded. The four-lane road will connect Sohar, Muscat and the UAE and help speed up the transportation of goods from Oman’s expanding ports and airports around the region.

The Muscat government also announced plans to build a new logistics centre in the Batinah South region, designed to help support the growing traffic at Sohar Port.

The new impetus driving Oman’s transport projects will help the country realise its ambitions of becoming a major trade and transport hub for both interregional and Asia-Africa trade. However, Muscat will need to maintain, if not increase, this level of momentum to compete with the rest of the GCC effectively.

While the contractors working on the Riyadh and Doha metros may be facing unknown risks, the benefits make them worthwhile

Construction is very different from manufacturing. Instead of striving for perfection through repetition, it involves a team of people who have never worked together before making something that has never been built before. Construction is inherently risky and the bigger the project is, the bigger the risks are.

The Riyadh Metro and Doha Metro are two of the region’s biggest schemes. In Riyadh, contractors will build 176 kilometres of metro lines within five years – an undertaking that even seasoned metro builders say has never been taken on before. The Doha Metro also involves the construction of multiple tracks. Both schemes face a multitude of challenges ranging from land acquisition to traffic management and manpower to financing.

While these risks may be new for local players that have had few opportunities to work on metro projects in the region, they are familiar ones for international construction companies. These firms were prepared to compete aggressively for work on both metro schemes since other markets, most notably southern Europe, have offered few major opportunities for contractors in recent years.

With the majority of the metro work now awarded, the focus will shift to delivery and the consortiums that won the contracts will find out exactly how accurate their predictions were as they discover the amount of risk involved in building metros in cities such as Riyadh and Doha.

However, with risk comes reward. The multibillion-dollar deals will generate significant cash flows for work-hungry contractors and will create thousands of job opportunities for construction professionals and close to 100,000 jobs for labourers in both cities.

More importantly, the two schemes will transform two of the region’s capital cities into modern metropolises, and for the residents of Riyadh and Doha, that is the greatest reward of all.

© Meed, August 2013