Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a 14-month contract to leading consulting and engineering group Systra and technical and management support services provider Aecom for the Phases Two and Three of the extension of its iconic Light Rail Transit system.

Phase Two of the Dubai Tram will serve the town’s main attractions, including Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Burj Al Arab, as well as the Mall of Emirates (MOE), the greatest shopping mall in the UAE, said a statement from Systra.

On the opposite side of Sheikh Zayed Road, the MoE is connected to the project zone through the Red Line metro station, it stated.

As per the deal, Systra, in association with Aecom, will take charge of transport planning, preliminary design and invitations to tender, for the second and third phases.

Phase Two is part of the masterplan for Jumeirah Central Project, managed by Dubai Holding, while Phase Three will serve the Jumeirah Beach Road to the north-west of Dubai.

Systra is already a renowned name in Dubai for its design work of the automated metro (two lines opened in 2009 and 2011) and the first phase of the Dubai tram, inaugurated in November 2014.

Last September, the first stone of the metro extension was laid, planned for completion in 2020. Furthermore, the group has also won a prize for the design, using BIM, of the Hyperloop One Line to connect Dubai with Fujairah.-TradeArabia News Service