French-Japanese consortium secures $147m contract to operate Dubai Metro

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded a $147m contract to a French-Japanese consortium to operate and provide maintenance of the Dubai Metro.

The contract comprises nine base years and six renewable years, as well as involve the operation of the Dubai Tram.

The French-Japanese consortium includes three firms, namely Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Keolis, and Mitsubishi Corporation, reported Arab News.

The contract was granted after Dubai’s transport authority released a public tender,  which saw the participation of four consortiums and international companies, focusing on rail operation and maintenance.

After assessing the proposals, the French-Japanese consortium won the contract for its technical and financial proposals.

The group will start executing the work on 8 September.

In a press release published by the Dubai Media Office, RTA director-general Mattar Mohammed Al-Tayer said: “The consortium shall undertake the operation and maintenance services of the Dubai Metro Red and Green lines, as well as Route 2020. It will also cater to the operation of Dubai Tram, and all assets of the metro and tram networks, including trains, control centres, stations and the associated infrastructure.”

The group will also run and maintain the automated metro and fare systems.

Al-Tayer added: “The outsourcing of metro and tram operation and maintenance is a common global practice across famous metro lines in cities like London, Singapore, Paris and Sydney.”

Earlier, the UK-based Serco Group was responsible for maintaining and running the Dubai Metro and Tram, reported Trade Arabia.