Dubai advances Gold Line contractor race

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has opened the prequalification stage for contractors and consortiums seeking to build the Dubai Metro Gold Line, moving the Dh34 billion project from planning into the procurement phase.

The authority has issued requests for qualification for the fully underground line, with interested contractors required to submit qualification documents by 17 August. The process follows an expression-of-interest stage launched in May and forms part of a wider expansion of the emirate’s rail network as population growth, real estate development and road congestion intensify pressure on urban mobility.

The Gold Line is planned as a 42-kilometre route with 18 stations, linking Al Ghubaiba in Bur Dubai with Jumeirah Golf Estates. It will pass through 15 strategic districts, including Mina Rashid, City Walk, Business Bay, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Nad Al Sheba, Meydan, Al Barsha South and Jumeirah Village Circle. The line is designed to serve more than 55 development projects and benefit more than 1.5 million people by 2040.

The project was approved in April by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with completion scheduled for 9 September 2032. Once operational, the Gold Line is expected to lift the total Dubai Metro network from 120 kilometres, including the Blue Line under construction, to 162 kilometres. The number of metro stations will rise from 67 to 85.

The procurement package covers design and construction of civil works, electromechanical systems, rolling stock and rail systems. The selected contractor is also expected to support systems maintenance and operations during an initial three-year period, a requirement that places emphasis on technical depth as well as construction capacity. The scale of the assignment is likely to attract major international rail engineering groups, tunnelling specialists and local contracting partners with experience in complex transport works.

The Gold Line’s five-stage consultancy structure covers concept design, preliminary design, tender documentation, construction supervision and the defects and liability period. Aecom has been linked to consultancy work on the project, reflecting the need for specialised planning on a line that will run entirely underground through dense urban corridors and active development zones.

The line will connect with the Red Line at Business Bay and Jumeirah Golf Estates, and with the Green Line at Al Ghubaiba. It is also planned to integrate with Etihad Rail at Meydan and Jumeirah Golf Estates, strengthening links between Dubai’s metro system and the wider national rail network. The integration is central to Dubai’s push for multimodal transport, where metro, rail, buses, taxis and emerging mobility services are planned around high-density growth areas.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, has described the Gold Line as a strategic milestone in the evolution of Dubai’s public transport network. The authority expects the route to reduce pressure on the Red Line between Burjuman and ONPASSIVE stations by 23 per cent and cut more than 40 million road journeys a year.

The project carries a projected cumulative economic return of 430 per cent over 20 years of operation, driven by savings in travel time and fuel, lower accident costs and reduced emissions. Property and land values near stations are expected to gain by up to 20 per cent, reinforcing the pattern seen in other metro-connected districts where rail access has reshaped demand.

Dubai Metro has carried more than 2.8 billion passengers since opening in September 2009. Passenger numbers reached 295 million in 2025, a 7 per cent increase on 2024, with daily usage averaging about one million. The metro accounts for 40 per cent of all public transport use in the emirate, making network expansion a central element of transport planning rather than an isolated infrastructure upgrade.

The Gold Line will follow the Blue Line, a 30-kilometre project with 14 stations that is already under construction. The Blue Line will serve Dubai Creek Harbour, Festival City, International City, Mirdif, Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai Academic City, areas expected to accommodate about one million residents by 2040. Together, the two projects are intended to widen metro coverage across both established districts and fast-growing urban centres.