In Dubai International City, the morning sun shines on busy construction sites, and workers are nervously and orderly advancing the construction of the Dubai Metro Blue Line. This is the site of a major transportation project fully promoted by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), with over 3000 workers distributed across 12 construction sites, sweating for this new 30 kilometer subway line.  

The construction progress is steadily advancing

Since the groundbreaking of the Dubai Metro Blue Line project in June 2025, it has completed 10% of the construction progress in just five months, and the overall completion rate has reached 12%. This iconic project is supervised by a team of 500 engineers and experts, with over 4.6 million working hours completed at various construction sites.  

According to the established plan, the project is expected to reach a completion rate of 30% by the end of 2026 and will be officially put into operation on September 9, 2029. At that time, this new line will connect the existing red and green lines of Dubai Metro, forming a more complete rail transit network. 

Route planning and station setup

The Dubai Metro Blue Line is 30 kilometers long, with 14.5 kilometers above ground and 15.5 kilometers underground. It has a total of 14 stations (9 elevated stations and 5 underground stations). The route adopts a Y-shaped design and consists of two main routes. The first branch line departs from Creek Transfer Station on the Green Line and passes through Dubai Festival City, Dubai Creek Port Ras Al Khor， Arrive at International City Zone 1 (with underground transfer station), then extend to International City Zones 2 and 3, ultimately connecting Dubai Silicon Valley Oasis and Academic City, with a total length of 21 kilometers and 10 stations.  

The branch line starts from the Centerpoint transfer station on the red line, passes through Mirdif and Al Warqa, and ends at the International City Zone 1 transfer station, with a total length of 9 kilometers and 4 stations. The biggest highlight of the project is the construction of Dubai Metro's first bridge across the Dubai River, with a total length of 1.3 kilometers.  

Economic benefits and social impact

After the completion of the Dubai Metro Blue Line, it is expected to increase the value of land and property around the station by 25%, while reducing traffic congestion along the line by 20%. This route will provide direct service to Dubai International Airport, with a travel time of only 20 minutes, greatly improving travel convenience.  

By 2040, the population of the project service area is expected to reach 1 million, and the daily passenger flow will exceed 320000. It is expected that by 2040, the total economic benefits of the project will reach 56.5 billion dirhams (approximately 15.4 billion US dollars), with a benefit cost ratio of 2.60, meaning that every 1 dirham investment can generate 2.60 dirhams in revenue.  

Deep participation of Chinese enterprises

The Dubai Metro Blue Line Project was undertaken by CRRC Hong Kong Türkiye MAPA Türkiye LIMAK consortium, with a contract amount of 20.5 billion dirhams (about 5.6 billion US dollars). CRRC is responsible for the design and supply of 28 unmanned trains, the construction of vehicle depots, the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of rail transit systems, as well as road renovation, relocation of public facilities, and other projects.  

China CRRC Casco is responsible for the supply, integration, and installation of communication systems, signal systems, integrated monitoring systems, maintenance management systems, and virtualization cloud platforms; China Railway Equipment provides it with earth pressure balance shield tunneling machines. In addition, Sany Heavy Industry has delivered the world's first batch of SDC125 double wheel milling machines to the project, and by the end of 2025, more than 100 Sany equipment will serve the project, accounting for 35% of the total project equipment. The core station, Imar Station, will become the tallest subway station in the world, reaching a height of 74 meters, designed by the renowned American architectural firm SOM, which designed the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The station design cleverly integrates the station with the urban landscape, making it not only a transportation hub, but also a city landmark symbolizing Dubai's future vision. Keywords: Middle East News, Latest News from the Middle East

With the accelerated construction of the Dubai Metro Blue Line, this new line will bring more convenient and efficient travel experiences to Dubai residents and tourists, while injecting new impetus into urban development.Editor/Yang Meiling