$54m Business Bay canal gets green light from Dubai
Megaproject will be linked to the sea via a pipeline in phase one, will be connected to existing lagoons
A long proposed canal in the Business Bay area of Dubai has finally received approval from Dubai Municipality and will be completed over the next two years, it was announced on Monday.
The first phase of the project will be connecting the Business Bay canal with the sea through a pipeline using the micro tunneling technique, said Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of the municipality. The project will cost between $40m and $54m, he said in a report carried by Gulf News, a Dubai based newspaper.
“It is a very challenging project, but we’re hoping to add value to the site and bring something that is unique to Dubai,” Lootah explained, and added that the project is aimed at reviving the Business Bay canal as part of an integrated marine system and transform the adjacent area into an attractive waterfront.
Once the connection to the sea was complete, the waterway would be connected to existing lagoons in the development, the newspaper report said. The pipeline system will have an overall length of around three kilometres, and Lootah said that the micro-tunnelling process would ensure that pumping could be carried out without affecting existing utilities.
“This will help improve the quality of water as it would make it possible to regularly flush water from the Creek,” said Alya Abdul Rahim Al Harmoudi, head of the Coastal Area and Watercanals Management Department at the municipality.
The municipality undertook a complete hydrodynamic study to ensure that there was proper water circulation in the canal and the inner part of the Dubai Creek. Al Harmoudi added that the municipality had considered the possibility of including the Meydan canal in the overall system.
He added that the water intake would be done using the pipe intake technique, which would negate the need to construct any breakwaters.
