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Dubai’s $8bn stormwater project in conceptual design

6 January 2025

 

Dubai Municipality's Tasreef programme, the emirate's planned AED30bn ($8.16bn) rainwater drainage network project, is still in the conceptual design stage.

According to a source familiar with the plans, it is likely that the municipality will wait until the tendering process for the first packages of its first major public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure project, the $22bn Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels, get under way or are completed before it starts the procurement process for Tasreef.

MEED previously reported that Dubai Municipality is inclined to consider a PPP procurement model for the emirate-wide drainage network project.

In October last year, Dubai Municipality issued a tender notice for a delivery partner to develop and implement a model tailored to the needs of the Tasreef programme.

MEED understands that the request for proposals targeted technical and engineering advisory companies. 

Fahad Al-Awadhi, director of the drainage system and recycled water projects department at Dubai Municipality, said at the time that the municipality expected to receive the bids in early November 2024.

According to Al-Awadhi, the Tasreef programme consists of three streamlines to enhance the effectiveness of Dubai's stormwater system:

  • Improvement of infiltration and sustainable drainage systems and artificial intelligence applications
  • Upgrade of stormwater systems in Deira, Bur Dubai and Jebel Ali
  • Proposed stormwater tunnels in Deira and Bur Dubai, as well as link tunnels in Jebel Ali

In addition, the Tasreef programme will address storm event management, including raising awareness about storm impacts, implementing proactive risk control measures, developing marketing and procurement strategies and establishing communication plans. 

Al-Awadhi added: "The proposed stormwater tunnels, links and terminal pump stations aim to enhance the stormwater network’s capacity by 700%, to handle up to 65 millimetres of rainfall per day. This programme represents the largest rainwater collection project in a single system within the region."

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved the project in June 2024.

Sheikh Mohammed's approval of Tasreef came two months after a storm in April 2024 inundated Dubai, causing widespread flooding and damage to infrastructure and property in some areas.

The project will raise the emirate-wide drainage network’s capacity to more than 20 million cubic metres of water a day. It is hoped that it will meet Dubai's needs for the next 100 years.

The project is a continuation of drainage projects launched by Dubai in 2019, covering the Expo Dubai area, Al-Maktoum International Airport City and Jebel Ali.

The rainwater drainage capacity through tunnels will reach 20 million cubic metres a day, with a flow capacity of 230 cubic metres a second.

According to data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, the Dubai Municipality Deep Tunnel Storm Water System (DTSWS) was first announced in 2014.

It has several components, and the first two packages covering Jebel Ali were awarded in 2017 and 2018 and completed in 2022.

The remaining packages of the masterplan were on hold before the government's announcement on 24 June.

The DTSWS project is separate from the Dubai Strategic Sewage Tunnels project, which is being developed under a PPP contracting model.  

Photo: Pixabay, for illustrative purposes only

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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