Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a consortium of France’s Alstom, Spain’s Acciona, and Turkey’s Gulermack a AED 10.6bn ($2.8bn) contract to extend the Dubai Metro up to the Expo 2020 site
The Expolink Consortium beat stiff competition from nine other ventures to win the huge contract in an international tendering process, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at RTA, said on Wednesday
Out of the 10, five were invited to submit technical and financial proposals and two shortlisted in the final stage.
“Construction works on the project would start in the final quarter of this year, and the trial run is expected to start in the last quarter of 2019. The official operation of the service is set to on 20 May, 2020, five months ahead of the opening of Expo 2020,” Al Tayer said.
Under the contract, Alstom will supply 50 trains (15 for the Route 2020 line, and 35 for the Dubai Metro) and also execute the electromechanical works. The Thales Group will provide the technological systems while Acciona and Gulermack will execute the civil works component.
Route 2020 will extend the Red Line of Dubai Metro from Nakheel Harbour and Tower station to the Expo 2020 site, located near the Al Maktoum International Airport.
The 15km route, which will have seven stations – 11.8 km a viaduct, and 3.2 km underground track – and will include a transfer station with the Red Line, Expo Station, three elevated stations, and two underground stations.
The project will serve districts including the Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Estate and the Dubai Investment Park.