Plans to build hundreds of flats and offices above Dubai's busiest metro station took a step forward on Sunday as Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said it planned to issue tenders in May.
The RTA issued detailed guidelines to potential developers to build Union Oasis, a tower project above the two-level, 15,000 square metre Union Metro station in Deira, saying that it would invite tenders through an auction process.
Dubai's authorities have been crafting plans for high-density developments on a number of metro stations since before the rail system was opened in 2009.
Previous studies were commissioned, but any plans for work were delayed by the global financial crisis.
The project above Union station would be the first of its kind in the region, encouraging more people to use the rail system and to bring more businesses and homes to old Dubai.
The exact size of the towers and the mix of uses in them will be left to developers to determine in their bids. Deira's location close to Dubai International Airport will probably mean that the buildings are unlikely to be more than 20 or 30 storeys high. The size of the plot is also likely to mean that the scheme is restricted to three or four towers.
"The main objective of issuing this guideline is to highlight all particulars and commercial ends of the Union Oasis project,” said Abdullah Yousef Al Ali, the chief executive of the RTA's rail agency. "[The project] would contribute to the rejuvenation of Deira.”
Historical parts of the city such as Deira, long a thriving centre of Dubai, have struggled to compete with swanky developments in the newer parts of the city, prompting an exodus by richer inhabitants.
However, in recent years a number of developers have attempted to reverse this trend.
Dubai International Real Estate is working on delayed plans for the Jewel of the Creek, a 123,955 sq. metre hotel and apartment scheme between Al Maktoum and the Floating Bridge, and last year Dubai Municipality announced plans for the City of Aladdin, three connected towers to be built on the Deira side of Dubai Creek.
The property developer Nakheel is also pressing ahead with plans for 94 hotels and resorts at its Deira Islands scheme.
Source: The National