Dubai Metro plans another AED 34 bn line connecting historic center to suburbs

Another metro line: Dubai is getting yet another massive metro line, an AED 34 bn underground line running 42km from Dubai’s historic center all the way to Jumeirah Golf Estates, according to the Dubai Media Office. The metro line, expected to launch in September 2029, will have 18 stations and is expected to carry around 465k passengers daily.

Transit as a real estate engine: The line will cover 15 strategic areas and plug into more than 55 development projects. The late date launch gives room for construction alongside new districts to avoid the bottlenecks that come with compressed timelines.

Dubai is looking at long-term population growth and boosting connectivity, not just solving today’s congestion. Dubai’s 2040 Urban Master Plan assumes the population will grow to around 5.6 mn, and aims to make the city a “20-minute city,” meaning keeping 80% of essential services within a 20-minute radius of any given part of Dubai. Other projects to help make this happen include “ Dubai Loop ” — an underground system developed by Elon Musk’s construction firm The Boring Company, which will span 17 km and have 11 stations, set to mirror the one in Las Vegas, which is operated by Tesla vehicles.

REMEMBER- Dubai Metro is already getting an AED 20.5 bn extension known as the Blue Line, also due to come online in 2029. Slightly shorter at 30-km, the line will run though 14 stations, connecting Dubai International Airport to major urban hubs such as Mirdif, Al Warqa, International City, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Academic City, and Dubai Creek Harbour. It will be able to carry 200k passengers daily by 2030, with the number projected to rise to 320k by 2040.