The Dubai Metro Blue Line is scheduled to open in September 2029. Photo: Dubai Media Office
The Dubai Metro Blue Line is scheduled to open in September 2029. Photo: Dubai Media Office
The Dubai Metro Blue Line is scheduled to open in September 2029. Photo: Dubai Media Office
The Dubai Metro Blue Line is scheduled to open in September 2029. Photo: Dubai Media Office

News

UAE

Dubai Metro Blue Line: Road closure announced as construction work gathers pace

Traffic diversions will be in place in Academic City

The National

July 21, 2025

  • English
  • Arabic

A key road will be closed and traffic diverted in Dubai International Academic City as construction work for the Blue Line rail project begins.

The emirate's Roads and Transport Authority on Monday said 63rd Street – near the German International School – would be shut in both directions to allow for roadworks relating to the Dubai Metro Blue Line.

The RTA said alternative exit and entry points to access the private school, which serves more than 900 pupils, would be provided.

Drivers are advised to plan trips in advance and make use of alternative routes while the work is being carried out.

The RTA did not say how long the roadworks in the area would take to complete.

The transport authority on Tuesday alerted motorists over traffic diversions being introduced in the Mirdif area due to Blue Line work.

It said the roundabout junction between 5th and 8th streets near City Centre Mirdif would be closed, with a diversion in place. This will also be the case in the opposite direction, from 8th to 5th towards Algeria Street.

An alternative access road will be provided for City Centre Mirdif mall visitors, the authority added, with an available U-turn in place for residents near Ghoroob Square.

Academic City is the emirate's leading education hub. Established in 2007, it is home to a wide variety of universities, schools, learning centres and other educational centres that support more than 28,000 learners.

What is the Dubai Metro Blue Line?

The Blue Line is scheduled to open in September 2029, marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of Dubai Metro.

The Dh20.5 billion ($5.58 billion) project will include 14 new stations, connect with the existing Green and Red lines, and serve expanding neighbourhoods such as Mirdif, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Creek Harbour and Dubai International City.

It will add 30km to the Metro network, 15.5km of which will be underground. When complete, the network will be 131km long with 78 stations served by 168 trains.

The public transport drive is central to the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, which has easier commuting among its priorities.

Dubai's RTA said the Blue Line would connect five principal urban regions – Bur Dubai/Deira, Downtown/Business Bay, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Marina/JBR and Expo City Dubai.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro

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