RTA to establish a marine link between Dubai and UAE coastal cities

This is envisaged to be materialized in multiple massive projects to lift the excellence bar of Dubai marine transport services.

Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Marine Transport Agency, said: "The Agency is seeking to upgrade all marine transport services including passenger services, cargo services and tourist excursions over the next years. It will also endeavor to link the city of Dubai with other coastal cities of the UAE across a coastal strip extending 1500 km rather than the existing 70 km marine lines.

"The Plan, which is still being developed at Marine Transport Services, extends up to 2020 and is based on introducing investment projects to supplement marine transport, such as the floating hotel project, floating restaurants project, and marine recreational projects like water bikes & ships. The plan also stresses compliance with world-class standards of security & safety and here comes the floating hospital project intended to provide rapid & timely deployment of medical services. All of these futuristic projects are orchestrated under the umbrella of the RTA and are tailored to realize its vision of providing "safe & smooth transport for all" he said.

Al Mulla pointed out that such large-scale works require developing marine infrastructure of Dubai city to cope with the huge urban development witnessed by the bustling city life that never calms or sleeps. The huge public interest in marine transport requires the Agency to redouble its efforts to provide all means of comfort & security of mobility between the two banks of Dubai Creek. Accordingly this requires qualifying & training Emaratis to steer & realign work drive in the right path.

He explained that the public needs to be enlightened and educated about marine transport process through the marine gate of Dubai city. More than 27 million commuters used all marine transport modes during the period from January till the end of October of this year in travelling between the two banks of Dubai Creek.

"More efforts have to be put to increase the number of passengers by 10% in 2008 as deduced from questionnaires and public opinion polls. This requires stepping up the frequency of trips i.e. increasing the number of water buses & supervisors, particularly during Fridays, Eid-days & holidays. Growth rate in each marine transport station has to be monitored, with a view to expand throughout Dubai maritime zone.

"Marine Agency is seeking to keep pace with the global developments and deliver top-class marine transport services. Thanks to the huge projects constructed along its shores like Palm Islands & The World, Dubai city is shaping into a milestone in the global marine map. Marine Agency is also undertaking development projects at Dubai Creek such as motorized & compressed natural gas-operated abras. Three abras are procured for conducting trials & pilot studies to assess the latest abra systems. This initiative demonstrates the keen attention of the RTA to study & experiment all modern technologies in the field of abra transport so as to utilize renewable and environment-friendly energy sources in its drive to realize the vision of the RTA of providing safe & smooth transport for all. Studies have been conducted to explore the possibility of operating abras on compressed natural gas instead of diesel in coordination with Emirates Gas Co. in a process that started with a trial run of three abras for three weeks. Other projects include Water Bus; the newest addition to projects portfolio of Marine Agency, and other marine transport services projects.