Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), in collaboration with Majid Al Futtaim Group, has awarded a contract valued at approximately AED 165 million to expand and improve access to the Mall of the Emirates and its surrounding infrastructure. The project will include the construction of a 300-meter bridge on Sheikh Zayed Road, designed to streamline traffic flow and enhance accessibility to the mall.
Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at RTA, detailed the project’s scope, stating: “The new bridge will feature a single lane and provide direct access to the Mall of the Emirates parking areas for drivers coming from Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali. Additionally, the existing ramp at the Umm Suqeim intersection will be extended southward, improving the intersection and easing the movement of vehicles from Umm Suqeim Street to the mall’s parking facilities.”
The comprehensive project will also involve significant upgrades to surrounding infrastructure, including:
- Enhancements to 2.5 km of surface roads around the mall
- Development of three signalized surface intersections
- Modifications to the bus station at Mall of the Emirates Metro Station
- Conversion of the street adjacent to Kempinski Hotel from one-way to two-way
- Improvements to pedestrian and cycling lanes
- Upgrades to paving, lighting, traffic signals, rainwater drainage, and landscaping
These improvements are expected to drastically reduce travel times. Motorists traveling from Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali will see their commute to the Mall of the Emirates cut from 10 minutes to just one minute, while those coming from Umm Suqeim will experience a reduction from 15 minutes to 8 minutes.
Opened in 2005, Mall of the Emirates attracts over 40 million visitors annually. The mall boasts 454 fashion stores, 96 dining options, and unique entertainment facilities, including Ski Dubai and the largest VOX Cinema in the Middle East. It also features five-star accommodations, such as Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, Sheraton Mall of the Emirates Hotel, and Novotel Suites Mall Avenue, and is directly connected to the Mall of the Emirates Metro Station via a pedestrian bridge.
