Dubai is among the top five cities in the world for road and infrastructure projects
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Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai
Abstract
Discover how Dubai transformed from a single asphalt street in 1960 to one of the top five cities in the world for infrastructure, driven by visionary leadership, bold projects, and innovation in road development.
Description
Dubai today is one of the top five cities in the world in the field of road and infrastructure projects. This achievement has gone through a historical phase lasting 65 years. Huge projects have emerged in Dubai that changed the shape of the city. In these massive projects, let’s see that in 1960 the first asphalt street in Dubai was paved, which is Al Seef Street that connected the ruler's palace in Zabeel and his office in Al Fahidi, and the project was executed by Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Al Bastaki. In 1961, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed requested the Sudanese government to send an expert to study the organization of the municipality, and Kamal Hamza, the director of the municipality, was appointed along with Abdul Ghaffar Hussein as his assistant. In 1962, the Dubai government commissioned Sir William Halcrow's office to plan the road network in Bardira. In 1963, the Maktoum Bridge was built, which marked a milestone. In the development of infrastructure, it was the first link between Deira and Bur Dubai, and before this bridge, the abras were the only means of transporting people between the two sides. In 1964, the municipality purchased 4 Chevrolet buses worth 100,000 riyals, and one used Ford bus, and used them as public transportation to transport workers. In 1965, the work on the clock tower in Deira was completed, which is one of the most beautiful landmarks in the city designed by the German architect Pollard. It was implemented by the Austrian company AST, and engineer Zaki Al-Homsi contributed to its design. The city has maintained its design to this day. By the way, the Telegraph newspaper in 2014 listed the clock tower in Dubai among the 17 most beautiful clock towers in the world, alongside the Big Ben in London. The traffic system of cars in the streets of Dubai was Driving on the right like the streets of London, but in 1966 a decision was made to change the system to driving on the left as is currently the case. The city grew and due to the increase in cars, in 1973 Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed signed in the British capital London, in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, an agreement to build the first underwater tunnel in the Gulf region, which is the Shindagha Tunnel. It was inaugurated in 1975 at a total cost of 60 million dirhams, and in the same year, the Al Qusais Bridge was opened, which is the second bridge in Dubai, facilitating traffic movement on the creek. In 1974, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed issued a decision to appoint Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid as the head of the municipality. In 1979, the new building of the Dubai Municipality was inaugurated on Bani Yas Street, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. Talk and preparations are visible, and there is a special section for roads. In 1985, Qasim Sultan Al-Banna was appointed as the acting Director General of Dubai Municipality. In 1992, the young engineer Matar Al-Tayer was appointed as the head of the Roads Department in Dubai Municipality, making him the first citizen to hold this position. Before him, there was a person appointed by the United Nations named Farouk Khalifa, who holds British nationality. In the year 2000, the Emirates Road or the Dubai Ring Road, currently known as Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, was inaugurated, and it is one of the most important road projects connecting the Emirates, with a cost of 745 million dirhams. In 2004, work began on the Fourth Crossing project, which is a new crossing distributed over two areas: Deira and Bur Dubai, at a cost of 750 million dirhams. In 2005, the qualitative transport was in infrastructure projects. In Dubai's infrastructure, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid, may God have mercy on him, issued a law establishing the Roads and Transport Authority, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued a decision appointing Engineer Matar Al-Tayer as Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Authority. On the 9th day of the 9th month in the year 2009, at 9:09:09, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid inaugurated the Dubai Metro, the first project of its kind in the Gulf and the longest driverless metro in the world, at a cost exceeding 28 billion dirhams. From a one-way street in the city 65 years ago to one of the top 5 cities in the world in infrastructure projects, the road network has reached 19,000 kilometers, and from two bridges and one tunnel in the sixties and seventies to one thousand and fifty bridges and tunnels currently, we must know that the Roads and Transport Authority, from its establishment to today. Under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, 150 billion dirhams were pumped into the development of the road and transport network in Dubai. Mohammed bin Rashid's decisions were bold in developing the city, and in a single meeting that lasted less than half an hour with the flying airport, an amount of 60 billion dirhams was approved at the start of the authority's launch to bring about a shift in the road system. This is the most important reason for Dubai's success and its arrival on the global stage.