Dubai opens bridge connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to Mall of the Emirates

Dubai on Sunday opened a 300-metre bridge connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to the Mall of the Emirates in support of a major drive to cut congestion in one of the busiest districts of the emirate.

The transport link will provide direct access to the popular shopping centre and aims to half travel times, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said on Sunday.

More than 40 million visitors annually visit the Mall of the Emirates, which opened in 2005. It has 454 shops, 96 restaurants and cafes, and entertainment venues such as Ski Dubai.

The venue is in the heart of Al Barsha, a densely populated area of Dubai which has long been a traffic hotspot.

The authority said the new bridge would offer “direct access to the Mall of the Emirates for those coming from Umm Suqeim Street, heading west towards Sheikh Zayed Road southbound”.

It is part of a wider Dh165 million project – due to be completed by the end of this year – which will also see pedestrian and cycling lanes upgraded.

Officials hope the plan will cut travel time for motorists coming from the direction of Jebel Ali from 10 minutes to one minute, and from 15 minutes to eight minutes from Umm Suqeim.

The authority is leading a comprehensive road-building strategy to help ensure Dubai's infrastructure can keep pace with population growth.

Dubai's population passed 3.5 million in 2022 and now stands at more than 3.83 million.

The Dubai Government is set to invest heavily in infrastructure in the years ahead as it sets its sights on growing its population to 5.8 million by 2040.

In October, Dubai unveiled its largest government budget for 2025-2027, with spending of Dh272 billion ($74 billion).

In 2025 alone, expenditure is set at Dh86.26 billion, with 46 per cent to be spent on infrastructure, including roads, bridges, transportation systems and renewable energy centres, as well as the announced Al Maktoum Airport development.

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

While you're here

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What does a decline in adherence to faith say about Britain?

Here's why even the non-believers must understand faith

Islamophobia definition

A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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