Top 10 GCC road projects

Salam Street & Mina Road Development Phase 1 (Abu Dhabi)

Road building is rapidly becoming a key driver of the GCC’s construction industry. In February, Saudi Arabia confirmed that it has allocated US $3.06 billion (SAR11.5 billion) for road construction projects this year. The news was announced by the Minister of Transport, who said the length of roads to be built this year would total 8250km.

In Dubai, where residential development has all but ground to a halt, road building projects worth $380 million were announced on April 25. Work includes the widening of Al Khail Road from four lanes to six, building underpasses on Al Wasl Road and changing the Trade Centre roundabout to a signal junction with flyovers. In the same month, plans for 95 new interchanges, nine ring roads, 70 new pedestrian crossings and a masterplan for 580km of cycle tracks were announced.

In Kuwait, a number of road projects are being floated, including the $250 million 42km Nawaseeb highway, a $200 million upgrade of the First Ring Road and a $250 million ring road at Sabah Al Ahmad City. A look through CW’s online projects database reveals dozens of road building projects in the $5 million to $100 million range that are either underway, planned or in the tender stage.

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It’s clear from the numbers that road building is a sector every contractor and supplier needs to be involved in. Here, we profile ten high value GCC road building projects that you should know about.

1- Salam Street & Mina Road Development Phase 1 (Abu Dhabi)
Client: Abu Dhabi Municipality & Town Planning Department
Estimated value: US $1.4 billion
Scope: The project focuses on development of Salam Street & Mina Road, a key route into and out of the city. Once completed, the road’s capacity will be increased to more than 6000 cars per hour in each direction. Work includes construction of a 3.1km eight-lane tunnel, and 1.2km of roads leading into and out of the tunnel. This will serve projects on Reem, Suwa, Saadiyat Islands and the Mina area to the east of Abu Dhabi Island. A joint venture of Saif Bin Darwish Engineering Company and Samsung Engineering & Construction was awarded the main construction contract early in 2008.
Schedule: Completion of the project is pencilled in for the end of 2010.

2- Al Khor to Al Ruwais Road Phase 3 (Qatar)
Client: Authority of Public Works
Estimated value: US $600 million
Scope: The project involves further development of the Al Khor to Al Ruwais Road. The road is 61km long and will include four lanes in each direction. It will also feature 11 cloverleaf junctions and five tunnels.Tekfen Construction was awarded the main construction contract in October 2008.
Schedule: Construction work started in late 2008 and is due for completion in 2010.

3- Sheikh Zayed Parallel Roads Phase 4 (Dubai)
Client: Roads and Transport Authority
Estimated value: US $500 million
Scope: Phase 4 of the parallel roads project includes construction of 31km of eight-lane roads connecting Dubai Industrial City and Jebel Ali Free Zone South between Sheikh Zayed Road and Emirates Road. Al Naboodah Contracting was awarded the contact to execute the project in mid 2008.
Schedule: Work began in mid 2008 and is expected to take two years.

4- King Abdullah Highway Development (KSA)
Client: Riyadh Development Authority  
Estimated value: US $375 million
Scope: Work will focus on the improvement and widening of the highway; construction of three tunnels, service roads and subways; and beautification works.
Schedule: Saudi Oger was awarded the main construction contract in early 2008. Work is expected to finish in 2012.

5- Al Khail Road Upgrade Phases 2 and 3 (Dubai)
Client: Roads and Transport Authority
Estimated cost: US $351.5 million ($232.1 million for Phase 2 and $119.4 million for Phase 3)
Scope: The Al Khail Road Upgrade project involves widening and improving a 15km stretch of Al Khail Road between the junctions at Muscat Road and Emirates Road. The existing road will be widened from four lanes to six throughout and the roundabouts along this stretch will be turned into flyovers to allow the uninterrupted flow of traffic. New slip roads and interchanges will be added to enable access to the new residential developments along this stretch. Al Khail Road will also be extended by 9km to connect it to Dubai Bypass Road.
Work has been split into two phases – Phase 2, worth a reported $232.1 million, was awarded to Gunal Construction. Phase 3, worth a reported $119.4 million, was given to Ascon Road Contracting Company.
Al Khail Road Upgrade Phase 4, which will focus on creating a flyover junction at the intersection of Al Khail and Umm Suqeim roads, will go out to tender soon.
Schedule: Work on both phases is underway and is due for completion in 2010.