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The road and public transport improvements required to meet the needs of the
burgeoning population and the extensive building projects taking place
throughout the Emirates are continuing.
In Abu Dhabi, this takes the form of
improved road and bridge networks in Greater Abu Dhabi, adjacent islands and the
onshore satellite towns, as well as major redevelopment of the road network on
Abu Dhabi Island, including city-centre roads, the extensive Corniche revamp,
and the much-needed ‘Third Crossing’ project, a new bridge linking the island to
the mainland.
A number of large mixed-use, commercial and residential properties, together with large shopping malls, are under construction along Abu Dhabi’s Corniche and in the city centre, the most significant of which is Aldar’s redevelopment of the Central Market area.
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Aldar is also involved in the construction of a major new suburb at the 12-million-square-metre Al Raha Beach development that will form a gateway to Abu Dhabi north-east of the main island on the Abu Dhabi–Dubai Highway.
Al Raha and a major development on Reem Island were designated as investment areas under a new Abu Dhabi property law that permits expatriates to purchase property in designated areas. Dubai has over 20 major new road projects under construction or recently completed, including a 1.5-kilometre tunnel under the airport and a new 12-lane bridge across Dubai Creek. It is increasingly difficult for the road network to keep abreast of developments, especially considering the scale of projects such as the massive man-made island complexes that form the Jumeirah, Jebel Ali and Deira ‘Palms’ and ‘The World’, as well as huge leisurefocused projects like Dubailand.
Major mixed-use developments such as Dubai Festival City on the shores of Dubai Creek; ‘Downtown Dubai’, with the world’s tallest tower, Burj Dubai, as its centerpiece; and Dubai Waterfront, a major new suburb that will eventually house 750,000 people, as well as extensive developments at Jebel Ali also necessitate a reworking of traffic plans. Public transport projects include a fully-automated, light rail transit (LRT) that comes on-line in 2010. Although they are not experiencing the same population pressures as Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the Northern Emirates of Sharjah, and, to a lesser extent Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ra’s al-Khaimah and Fujairah, are all in the throes of developing and expanding their infrastructure to facilitate commercial, residential and tourist development.
In addition, the Federal Government continues to invest money on infrastructure projects in these emirates, especially on roads, housing, electricity and telecommunications. Major projects announced in the Northern Emirates in recent years include the ‘Nujoom Islands’ project, a residential, commercial and tourist venture near Hamriyah village on the north-eastern coast of Sharjah, the Marina project and a new township in Umm al-Qaiwain. In Ra’s al-Khaimah, work on the Al Hamra project commenced in 2004. ‘The Cove’, involving the development of 50 acres on Ra’s al- Khaimah’s coastline, and ‘Noor’, on a 850-hectare newly-reclaimed area, have also been launched.
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