Dubai explores underground transport network

Dubai is considering an underground transport network as part of its efforts to build an integrated system for the rapidly growing emirate, a senior government official said.

“The emirate is advancing efforts to redesign the future of mobility and build an integrated system operating across three dimensions: in the sky, at ground level and underground,” Mattar Al Tayer, director general of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), told the UAE state-run Wam news agency.

The RTA has begun work on an underground mass-transit system. The first stage of the Dubai Loop project is expected to be implemented “within two years”.

The first 6km of the Dubai Loop will cost AED600 million ($163 million) and be built around the financial district, Dubai’s key commercial area, Al Tayer said in February.

In its 2026-28 budget, the Dubai government allocated about half of its projected AED303 billion in infrastructure spending to roads, bridges, tunnels, public transport, sewage systems, parks, renewable energy facilities and waste management.

Further reading:

• Dubai begins driverless transport trial at Bluewaters tourist district
• Abu Dhabi invests $80m in public transport technology
• Dubai embarks on major expansion of road network

The city’s growing population is another factor. It reached 4.73 million in June, exceeding its pre-Iran war level.

The RTA is studying advanced technologies from around the world to use underground urban space efficiently and sustainably.

More than 6 million people travel around the emirate each day, and that number is expected to double by 2040.

Dubai’s roads currently handle more than 11 million trips a day – about 7,000 a minute – Al Tayer said. The challenge, he added, is to keep traffic flowing smoothly as the city grows rapidly.

At ground level, the emirate is focusing on autonomous journeys and aims for one in every four trips to be autonomous by 2030. Self-driving taxis have already travelled more than 4 million km.

The emirate began air-taxi trials in 2016 and opened its first air-taxi station in 2026, Al Tayer said.

Al Tayer said the RTA has contributed AED156 billion to the emirate’s GDP and generated more than AED319 billion in time and fuel savings over the past two decades.