Mystery surrounds the proposed Ajman Metro project, which has been reported on in local newspapers recently.
According to reports, the emirate will build a system that will run through Emirates Road to Al Corniche in Ajman, and on from there to Al Zawra and the new investment areas.
But
Construction Week
has learned that the proposal is nothing more than an ‘idea’ at this stage.
“Ajman Municipality chairman, Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, never said that Ajman is going to build a metro system,” said Mr Majid, secretary to the chairman.
“His comments have been changed by these newspapers and presented in a way he never meant them to be. All he has said is that it is an idea and nothing more than that. He did not say Ajman will build a metro at all.”
Consultants who have worked on rail network design and feasibility studies in the UAE have said that constructing a metro linking Ajman with Dubai would be a challenging proposition because of the emirate’s small size and the costs involved.
“We haven’t heard anything about this project,” said Mohamed Wehbe, business development and marketing manager, Alstom.
“I wouldn’t imagine that Ajman would be able to afford a metro to begin with, and even if it does manage to get its finances in order, the network would have to go through Sharjah, which may pose a problem.”
Despite there being a number of real estate projects underway and in the pipeline in Ajman, developers have questioned the need for a metro in the emirate.
“I haven’t heard anything about an Ajman Metro and I don’t see why Ajman would need one – it’s too small,” said Obaid Mohammed Al Salami, general manager, Dubai Investment Real Estate Company.
But an official from Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), who did not wish to be named, has confirmed that there have been talks between Ajman Municipality and the RTA over plans to develop the system, which is expected to link up with the Dubai Metro.
“There have been discussions about the Ajman Metro but it hasn’t been at a very high level and nothing has come of it,” he said.
“But it’s of no surprise that a lot of emirates now want metros, especially since Dubai has started constructing its own, they will look at Dubai to develop them. There are studies being carried out on the proposed metro but it is not a detailed study; it’s just a feasibility study. And the talks haven’t even reached a governmental level as yet, and that is what matters.”
Rami Dabbas, head of real estate development at the Ajman Development and Investment Authority, said: “It would be excellent if things work out and Ajman does get a metro that will connect with Dubai’s metro system, but it is still just an idea, nothing more.”
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