Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a Dh375-million ($102 million) contract for the construction of tunnels and roads leading to the Jewel of the Creek project.

The awarding of the contract was co-ordinated with the Dubai International Real Estate Company, DIRE, said a statement from RTA.

The Jewel of the Creek iconic project, which sits between Al Maktoum and the Floating Bridges, has been designed as a landmark tourist destination adding further prominence to the city and the tourist profile of the area.

Mattar Al Tayer, director-general of RTA and Khalil Al Sayegh, Director-General of DIRE, signed the memorandum of understanding for funding the construction of tunnels and roads leading to the project, which is set for completion during the first half of 2019.

"The project construction works have recently been started, and primarily aimed to provide entry and exit points linking with the ground and basement access points of the project. Specifically, it provides roads, subways and slipways linking the ground level and the basement parking of the project with the roads and transport network of Baniyas Road to the north, and Al Ittihad Road to the East," said Al Tayer.

The project also includes the construction of a footbridge crossing over Baniyas Road and lighting works along with the protection and shifting of the existing utility lines," he stated.

The northern access points comprise entry points to the basement parking for traffic bound to the west of Baniyas Road and the traffic inbound from Al Maktoum Bridge slipway.

It also includes exit points for the basement parking through a tunnel heading eastward to Baniyas Road and westward to Baniyas Road, in addition to exit points to the north-east leading to the eastern slipway from Al Maktoum Bridge to Baniyas Road, said the RTA statement.

It includes surface entry points from and to the eastern basement parking, and single-lane tunnels for the basement parking stretching from the Floating Bridge and Baniyas Road to the East, it stated.

According to Al Tayer, the project also includes the construction of roads for the surface entry points for the traffic inbound from Al Ittihad Road to the south, and single-lane tunnels to the north for the parking to provide exit in the direction of Abu Dhabi and Al Ittihad Road to the north.

"The entry and exit points leading to the Jewel of the Creek have been designed to meet the needs of this futuristic architectural masterpiece enhancing the Dubai skyline and posing as a majestic urban development on the shores of the Dubai Creek," added Al Tayer.-TradeArabia News Service