Dubai Metro Green Line set to start mid-2010

Stations on the Dubai Metro Green Line will be completed in the first quarter of 2010, with operations expected to start in the middle of next year, it has been reported.

The Red Line is also set to be extended by 15.5km to the border with Abu Dhabi and will add six stations, and a multi-storey car park at the border, Abdul Redha Abu Al Hassan, Director of Planning and Development, Rail Agency, Roads and Transport Authority said.

In comments published by website Ameinfo, Al Hassan said the preliminary designs were underway, but gave no date for completion.

He confirmed that the remaining stations on the Red Line, which did not open in the first phase, would be in use by the end of February 2010.

Giving an update on future Metro lines, Al Hassan said the development on the 52km Purple Line, which will serve areas such as Dubai International Airport, Festival City and Jumeirah Village, had been postponed due to the slowdown in property development in those areas.

"Once developers give us their schedules, we will reschedule the project," he told Ameinfo.

He added that the RTA would look for private finance to pay for future work on the Dubai Metro.

The government was currently favouring public private partnerships (PPP) for future phases of funding, he said.

So far Dubai has spent AED28bn on building the Red and Green Lines.