Sheikh Hamdan approves AED1.3bn Dubai Municipality drainage project
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and chairman of Dubai Municipality, has approved AED1.3bn for the implementation of the first stage of the rainwater and groundwater drainage project for the Al Maktoum Airport area, the Expo 2020 area and the nearby urban complexes covering 400sqkm.
Eng Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality, said that the approval of the project confirms the keenness of the government to provide all the requirements of the city of projects that serve the vision and mission of the emirate’s ambitious future to maintain its status as a global destination with all modern components of a global city.
Lootah reiterated that he and his Dubai Municipality team are keen to meet all the needs of the society in accordance with the strategic mission and vision of the Government of Dubai and to implement these projects in accordance with the finest and best international standards adopted in this field.
He added that the second phase of the project is under consideration for approval, which will raise the total cost of the project to AED2.5bn. The project involves collecting and transporting of rain and groundwater through underground tunnels into the Gulf waters for disposal as a long-term solution to tackle the issue of rainwater drainage for the 100 years to come.
Eng Talib Julfar, assistant director general of the Municipality for Environment and Public Health Services Sector, expressed his pleasure in launching this mega project in conjunction with the opening of Expo 2020, which confirms that there is a creative vision and a qualitative development in the Middle East, especially that this project will benefit Dubai for 100 years without maintenance. It will contribute in providing the emirate with many places of entertainment and services with a global perspective as a smart city, which has a deep strategy that explains and realises the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that will enable Dubai to be the city of sustainable living, with a vision of sound, intelligent and continuous planning.
Eng Mohammed Ahmed Al Rayes, acting director of Sewage and Irrigation Department, said that the rainwater drainage system will be able to discharge six million cubic meters of water, equivalent to 2,600 Olympic swimming pools, at a rate of one minute to complete pumping of one of these pools. This capacity will be enough to protect Al Maktoum Airport, the Expo 2020 area and the surrounding areas from the risk of rainwater harvesting that will affect development operations, cause disruptions, and stop activities, in addition to the technical aspects of the project. The new project will save the government with millions of dirhams per year that was used for operation and maintenance of the usual infrastructure used in solving such problems. It will also rationalize land consumption for public and commercial activities and will save about 30% of the consumed electrical power that could have been
consumed in the case of the usual systems.
Al Rayes pointed out that the project includes the establishment of a main line for the collection of rainwater to serve the airport area and Expo 2020 area of the project that is equivalent to the total area of Deira area.
He said the project, which includes digging of two tunnels with depths ranging from 40 to 50 meters with a diameter of 10 meters and 10.5km long extension pipes, has been assigned to the contractor to start implementation.
Al Rayes added that the underground rainwater drainage lines will be built using innovative tunnel technology and thus minimising the damage of construction works. Developing this strategic tunnel is vital and the latest tunnel technology will ensure that during the implementation period, it will minimise the structural damage on the ground, including roads, traffic and other facilities, he said.
Al Rayes said the new rainwater and groundwater collection network has been designed with great care to preserve the desert and coastal environment, which makes Dubai an exciting place to work, live and enjoy. He said that upon completion of the system, which is the latest sustainable system of rainwater and groundwater drainage, this project will be one of the most sustainable and pioneering projects at the global and regional levels, because it is environmentally-friendly and contains the latest technologies in this field.
