Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has received bids from consultants for a feasibility study on the development of tunnels and caverns across the emirate.

The bidders are:

• Arup (UK)
• AtkinsRealis (Canada)
• Egis (France)
• WSP (Canada)
• Jacobs (US)
• Dar Al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) (Lebanon)
• Aecom (US)
• Surbana Consultants (Singapore)

The study will look at using underground city spaces in Dubai to improve transport links and connectivity. This could include road tunnels, utilities corridors and underground pedestrian passageways connecting different parts of the emirate.

There are cities with extensive underground spaces such as Hong Kong and Toronto. These networks can avoid congestion at ground level, and in the case of pedestrian spaces, be climate controlled.

Elon Musk

Unground construction in Dubai came earlier this year when the RTA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Elon Musk-backed firm The Boring Company to explore developing the Dubai Loop transportation system.

The initial phase of the Dubai Loop project is 17 kilometres (km) long. It will have 11 stations and the capacity to transport over 20,000 passengers an hour.

The signing ceremony was held on 13 February, on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

The Dubai Loop is expected to be similar to The Boring Company-developed Las Vegas Convention Centre (LVCC) loop project in Las Vegas. It is understood the planned route includes a tunnel connecting DIFC with the Downtown area and Business Bay.

The LVCC loop is a 2.7km system of underground tunnels that connect different convention centre halls, reducing the walking time across the site to about 2 minutes.

READ MORE: Dubai construction heads underground

Congestion is a growing challenge in Dubai. The emirate’s population crossed the 4 million mark in September for the first time. Such rapid demographic changes are exerting considerable pressure on the public transportation system, necessitating enhancements to accommodate the rising demand.

In response, Dubai has been investing heavily in road and metro projects. It has awarded a multiple major road construction contract awards this year, and the 2025 total is expected to the largest on record, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

Metro projects

For the metro, Dubai awarded a AED20.5bn ($5.5bn) main contract for the construction of the extension of the Blue Line project in December last year.

The extension will transport 320,000 passengers a day and serve a population of about 1 million people living in areas such as Festival City, International City, Rashidiya, Warqa, Mirdif, Silicon Oasis and Academic City.

More recently, Aecom was awarded the consultancy contract for the planned Metro Line 4 project, which has also been known as the Gold Line.

These projects aim to reduce reliance on road transport and improve the overall transport infrastructure. Cutting journey times is a key facet of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan includes the 20-Minute City Policy, which seeks to ensure that 80% of residents’ daily needs can be met within a 20-minute journey on foot or by bicycle, further emphasising the need for efficient public transit solutions.