Dubai Municipality has awarded four contracts worth Dh3 billion to expand the emirate’s stormwater drainage network, as part of a wider project aimed at increasing rainwater drainage capacity by 700 per cent by 2033.
The project falls under the third phase of the Dh30 billion Tasreef programme and will involve constructing and extending 100km of main drainage lines, with diameters of up to three metres.
The work will cover 100 square kilometres across key residential, commercial, industrial and tourism areas, including Jumeirah, Umm Suqeim, Al Safa, Al Manara, Al Quoz, Al Barsha, Al Wasl, Zabeel, Al Bada’a, Al Satwa and Al Marmoom.
The project forms part of Dubai’s long-term efforts to improve infrastructure resilience and prepare for future climate challenges while accommodating the emirate’s urban expansion.
“Dubai did not simply stop to assess the damage or look for solutions. It took a swift and bold decision to begin a drainage programme designed to serve the city for the next 100 years,” Marwan bin Ghalita, director general of Dubai Municipality, said earlier this month.
The Tasreef scheme was launched in 2024 after the country experienced widespread flooding caused by unprecedented rainfall in April that year.
In June 2025, the municipality completed a Dh277m sewerage and rainwater drainage network in Nad Al Sheba, while in April this year, the drainage network in Al Quoz Creative Zone was completed.
The wider Tasreef programme approved aims to increase Dubai’s rainwater drainage capacity sevenfold and enable the system to handle more than 20 million cubic metres of water daily once completed.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2033 and is designed to meet the emirate’s drainage needs for the next 100 years.
Rather than focusing solely on repairing damage, authorities opted for a long term infrastructure upgrade to improve the emirate’s preparedness for extreme weather events.
Earlier in the week, the municipality announced it hadprepared 10 temporary water collection lakes in "strategic locations to accommodate rainwater runoff in the event of heavy rainfall and reduce pressure on the main drainage networks".
