RTA appoints consultant to define health, safety and environment systems for RTA projects

Roads & Transport Authority(RTA)

The Consultant will set up all appropriate Policies, Procedures, Standards and Work Instructions for RTA, covering Health & Safety areas in all RTA projects.

The consultant has to implement suitable awareness activities and training courses covering all aspects of Health & Safety, supply competent Health & Safety Staff and Auditors to oversee and check on policy implementation at the RTA level, and inspect work sites & premises to ensure compliance with RTA Policies and Procedures.

"RTA requires the consultant to provide personnel who have Health & Safety qualifications recognized by relevant organizations such as The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) across all RTA Agencies.

Categories of the required personnel cover a number of specialties that include Health and Safety Officers/ Auditors, Environmental Officers/ Auditors, Software Assurance Officers, Quality Assurance Officers, Procurement Officers, Accident Investigators, and Fire Safety Officers" said Al Tayer.

He also revealed that RTA is to appoint a specialized consultant to audit safety aspects in all projects undertaken by the RTA, and submit a monthly report to the Chairman of the RTA covering pros and cons as well as the course of action to be taken to avoid accidents in future. He added that the Consultant will start duty as of the first of July and will submit a summary report on the incident involving the collapse of a pillar of a subsidiary bridge in the Defence Interchange.

Al Tayer announced the inauguration of three awards to be awarded to the best consultants & contractors carrying out RTA projects, and the best Agency at the RTA level.

Award winners will be announced every three months and further details will be provided at a later stage.

These details have been made public following a meeting held by the RTA Chairman of the Board with chief executives of Contracting & Consultant companies undertaking construction or supervision of RTA projects.

Al Tayer reiterated the importance of compliance with Health & Safety standards in carrying out RTA projects and described it as "one of the key values that cannot be relinquished or compromised under any circumstances. It is absolutely important for the Health and Occupational Safety Unit to play an active role at the level of the Company as a whole and at the level of RTA projects to ensure keeping in place procedures of defining, assessing and coping with the risks related to Health and Occupational Safety.

Site Tour

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board & Executive Director of the RTA, made a tour visit over a number of road projects undertaken by the RTA covering Beatification of 2nd Zaabeel Road, the 2nd Elevated Lane of the Financial Center Road, Renovation of the 1st Interchange at Sheikh Zayed Road, and Beirut - Al Nahada Junction.

During the tour, Al Tayer was accompanied by Metha bin Adai, CEO of RTA Traffic & Roads Agency, Nabeel Mohammed Saleh, Director of Roads Dep't, and managers of Quality, Health, Safety & Environment as well as other Departmental Directors and section managers at the RTA.

Al Tayer called upon directors of contracting & consultant companies to provide all required safety tools and equipment at work sites, put more efforts to educate all engineers, supervisors and workers about the standards & requirements of Health & Occupational Safety. This has to be carried out in a periodical manner in the presence of RTA & consultant's representatives.

Al Tayer attended to a briefing on beautification of 2nd Zaabeel Road, extending 2 km from Al Qasr R/A to the existing light signal towards the Trade Center. Completion rate has now reached 50% in the project, which includes construction of pedestrian pavements, jogging tracks, and planting date trees, bushes and assorted seasonal flower pants. The project also includes widening the existing road from two to three lanes in each direction and construction of an underpass below Zaabeel R/A to accommodate the increasing traffic on 2nd Zaabeel Road.

Al Tayer reviewed work progress in the upper deck of the Financial Center Road. The Project consists of 3 lanes in the direction to Jumeirah and five lanes in the opposite direction, and completion rate has reached more than 60%. Al Tayer reviewed work progress in renovation works of the 1st Interchange at Sheikh Zayed Road; which is one of the biggest flyovers currently carried out by the RTA. Total length of bridges to be constructed is more than 3 km and underpasses extending 850 meters.

Al Tayer concluded his site tour by inspecting Al Nahdah - Beirut Roads Interchange Project; where construction works reached an advanced stage. The bridge coming from Emirates Road towards Al Mulla Plaza R/A is scheduled to be opened next week, and the bridge in the other direction is expected to be opened in the first week of July this year.

The Project includes transforming the existing intersection from a light signal-controlled intersection to a multi-level interchange, a flyover at Al Nahdah Eoad, an underpass at Beirut Road. The project will improve traffic flow on these two roads and ensure a seamless vehicle flow on Beirut Road from and to the Airport Tunnel.