The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai, UAE, has unveiled the timeline for the construction of the "Route 2020" project, which encompasses the extension of the Dubai Metro Red Line from Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station to the site of Expo 2020.

Construction works will start once the contract is awarded in the first quarter of 2016, and the project is set to be accomplished in the first quarter of 2020 so that it will be up and running to serve visitors of Expo 2020, said RTA chairman and executive director Mattar Al Tayer.

The RTA will start receiving requests for pre-qualification by May 31 and the shortlist of consortiums qualified to undertake the project will be selected on June 30, said Al Tayer, addressing a gathering of more than 300 executives of companies interested in the project, hailing from 34 countries representing more than 100 rail contractors as well as suppliers of trains, rail communication systems and technologies among others. The gathering was also attended by ambassadors and consuls of eight countries.

The tender documents will be released on July 2 and on December 6, the RTA will start receiving proposals. The winning consortium for the project's construction will be announced on January 28, 2016.

The ‘Route 2020’ project starts at Nakheel Harbour and Tower Metro Station on the Red Line and extends 15 km (11 km viaducts and 4 km underground), and includes seven stations (five elevated, and two underground stations). It also includes a future plan to construct three stations to serve Al Maktoum International Airport. The project serves districts with average-to-high population density such as the Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Furjan, Jumeirah Golf Estate, and the Dubai Investment Park. "These communities are inhabited by about 240,000 persons and the journey from the Dubai Marina to the site of Expo will take 16 minutes, explained Al Tayer.

He reiterated the transparency of RTA’s contractual procedures for the construction of the project which would be tendered on the basis of a design-build contract model. - TradeArabia News Service