On November 5th, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazruy announced at the annual meeting of the UAE government that a national transportation infrastructure plan with a total investment of 170 billion dirhams (approximately 46 billion US dollars) will be implemented, aiming to build a comprehensive transportation network covering the entire country by 2030. This grand plan covers road expansion, high-speed railway and light rail system construction, aiming to comprehensively improve national transportation efficiency.

The core of this plan is to systematically expand the main roads in China. Ahmed Road will add six lanes in both directions, with a total of 12 lanes and a 60% increase in traffic capacity; The UAE Road will be expanded to 10 lanes, with a 65% increase in traffic capacity and a 45% reduction in travel time; Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road will also be widened to 10 lanes. More notably, the government is studying the construction of a fourth federal highway, a 120 kilometer long 12 lane road with a daily capacity of 360000 vehicles.

At present, the UAE road upgrade project worth 750 million dirhams has started construction and is expected to be completed within two years. In July of this year, a subsidiary of Kuwait's CGCC company was awarded a contract worth 685 million dirhams to be responsible for the upgrade project of the road section from Sharjah to Dubai.

In the railway sector, Etihad Railway Company plans to launch passenger services no later than 2026. The high-speed railway project connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai has entered the contractor bidding stage, with a designed train speed of 350 kilometers per hour and an operating speed of 320 kilometers per hour. This high-speed railway network will be promoted in four stages: the first stage will focus on the Abu Dhabi Dubai line, expected to operate by 2030; In the subsequent stage, the Abu Dhabi intra city network, Abu Dhabi Ain line, and Dubai Sharjah inter emirate connection will be gradually built.

Meanwhile, the tram system announced by Abu Dhabi Transport Company in October will form a new urban transportation network. This project, named "Abu Dhabi Tram Line 4", will be implemented in three phases. The first phase of the project will start next year, connecting Zayed International Airport with important areas such as Yas Island and Al Raha Beach. The entire line is planned to be put into operation before 2030. Keywords: Middle East news, Middle East news and information

This series of projects is a strategic measure taken by the United Arab Emirates to address rapid urbanization and promote economic development. By building a multidimensional transportation system of "roads+tracks", the United Arab Emirates is steadily moving towards the goal of enhancing regional connectivity, alleviating traffic congestion, and constructing sustainable infrastructure, laying a solid foundation for economic transformation in the post oil era.Editor/Cheng Liting