In April 2025, a rare rainstorm in history plunged Dubai, a bustling city with global attention, into serious waterlogging and severely tested its resilience. Just a few months later, a grand project aimed at solving urban flooding once and for all - the Dubai Deep Tunnel Drainage System (DSST) project officially kicked off. Recently, the project has made significant progress, with China Construction Middle East Co., Ltd. successfully winning the bid for its core "Tasreef Plan" component. This is not only the fourth successful collaboration between China Construction Middle East and Dubai City Hall, but also means that Chinese companies will deeply participate in the construction of the largest and most advanced rainwater management system in the Middle East, helping Dubai build an underground "century old project".

Urban network with an investment of 22 billion US dollars

The Dubai Deep Tunnel Drainage System Project is an unprecedented strategic infrastructure project. To completely eliminate dependence on power pumping stations, Dubai plans to build a gravity flow deep tunnel network with a depth of about 90 meters and a total length of over 75 kilometers. This buried 'urban vein' will efficiently transport rainwater and sewage to the treatment plant, with a designed service life of up to 100 years.

Amazing Capacity Enhancement: After the project is completed, Dubai's urban drainage capacity will increase by 700%, with a daily rainwater treatment capacity of over 20 million cubic meters, sufficient to cope with potential extreme weather events in the future.

Innovative cooperation model: This project adopts the government social capital partnership (PPP) model, with a franchise period of 25 to 35 years and a total investment of approximately 22 billion US dollars. It is one of the most iconic PPP infrastructure projects in the Middle East region.

The Victory of China's Infrastructure Strength

Such a significant project naturally attracts the attention of top engineering companies around the world. Previously, several Chinese state-owned enterprises including China Harbour Engineering, China Railway Group, and China Construction Group, as well as international contractors from Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, have passed the pre qualification review, and the competition is extremely fierce.

China Construction Middle East won the bid this time thanks to its excellent reputation and solid performance in the UAE market, which it has deeply cultivated for a long time. In June 2025, the company successfully won the bid for the Dubai DS305 municipal sewage system project, demonstrating its professional capabilities in the field of complex underground pipeline engineering. Starting from housing construction and now flourishing in various fields such as municipal infrastructure and green energy, China Construction Middle East has become an important force in promoting local urban upgrading.

The advancement of the Tasreef Plan marks a shift in Dubai's urban development philosophy from responding to disasters to actively building resilience. The project leader said, "It is not just a simple technical engineering, but also reflects the forward-looking nature of urban governance

Safeguarding economic security: a drainage system that can withstand the rainstorm once in a century is the physical cornerstone to ensure the continued prosperity of this global trade, tourism and financial center.

Establishing regional benchmarks: This project will provide replicable solutions and high standard models for other cities in the Middle East with similar climates and facing water resource management challenges. Keywords: Middle East International News, Middle East Latest News

Highlighting China Construction: Winning the competition with international giants in the high-end infrastructure market signifies that Chinese enterprises have reached the world's leading level in technology, management, and full lifecycle service capabilities, and is a high-quality demonstration in international infrastructure cooperation.

It is expected that by 2033, this' underground Great Wall 'will be fully completed. At that time, Dubai's underground will quietly flow a safe river that guarantees the future of the city, and it will also be deeply engraved with the contributions of Chinese wisdom and construction. Editor/Yang Beihua