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September deadline for Hatta cable car bids

13 July 2023

State utility Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has extended the bid deadline to 14 September for the cable car system and the hotel main works package at the Dubai Summit Complex (DSC) in the Hatta Mountains.

The previous deadline was 31 July. The bidders include:

  • United Engineering Construction (local)
  • Strabag (Austria)
  • Besix (Belgium)

France’s EDF and Dewa have developed the concept, with France’s Groupe-6 involved in architecture and interior design and Terrell and DCSA Ingenieurs Consiel, also from France, providing engineering services.

The cable car scheme was announced as a 5.4-kilometre system to reach the Umm al-Nesoor mountain peak at 1,300 metres, the highest point in Dubai.

The design includes three cable car stations, a hotel and a visitor centre, and a mountain-top viewing station with a retreat hotel. The concept is planned around the hydroelectric storage plant developed by Dewa and situated between the base and intermediary stations overlooking the two lakes.

Hatta is a key area of focus for Dubai’s tourism investments. In January 2022, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, formed a supreme committee to oversee development in the region.

The committee is tasked with attracting investments into Hatta from the public and private sectors and local and international companies.

The Hatta development plan, launched in 2016, was valued at about AED1.3bn ($354m) and focused on creating three main areas: economy and services, tourism and sports, and culture and education.

The cable car system and hotels are among the six projects launched in August 2022 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, as part of the 2016 project programme.

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Yasir Iqbal

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