191201 Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Image Credit: WAM

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Tuesday reviewed new road and bridge projects worth Dh4.6 billion.

The projects, covering 119km, will serve the Al Maktoum airport, Expo 2020, Jebel Ali and International Media Production City.

Sheikh Mohammed also inaugurated the Dh500,000 Dubai Intelligent Traffic Systems Centre designed to monitor traffic movement in the emirate using fibre optics that connect the centre with smart devices to monitor accidents.

The centre will be equipped with a network of intelligence cameras connected with huge databases. The fibre-optic network also connects the centre with detection sensors and devices to monitor time of trips between the emirate’s areas.

Sheikh Mohammed also approved the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy, which aims to transform 25 per cent of the total transportation in Dubai to autonomous mode by 2030.

The strategy will help cut transportation costs by 44 per cent, resulting in savings of up to Dh900 million a year. It will also help save Dh1.5 billion a year by reducing environmental pollution by 12 per cent, as well as generate Dh18 billion in annual economic returns by increasing the efficiency of the transportation sector in Dubai by 2030.

Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy also aims to reduce traffic accidents and losses by 12 per cent, equivalent to savings of AED 2 billion annually, and increase the productivity of individuals by 13 per cent. It will save 396 million hours on transportation trips yearly. It will also reduce the spaces allocated for parking.

The strategy features four main pillars: individuals, technology, legislative structure and infrastructure.

The main sectors identified for the application of the strategy are metro, buses and taxis.