New tunnel connects Raha Beach to Yas Island

The journey to Yas Island just got a lot shorter, with the opening of a new tunnel connecting the eastern end of Al Raha Beach to Yas.

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Abu Dhabi // The journey to Yas Island just got a lot shorter, with the opening yesterday of a new tunnel connecting the eastern end of Al Raha Beach to Yas. "This is going to make it so easy for everybody to go to the hotels on Yas," said Ousama Ghannoum, Aldar Properties' marketing and media director. Previously, the only entrance to Yas Island was the so-called "leisure route" around the Ferrari World theme park.

The tunnel now provides a direct route from the E10 motorway to the southern tip of the island, where the Yas circuit and the island's hotels are. "When you go under the bridge you will be in the hotel plaza area within two minutes," said Mr Ghannoum. The greatest benefit will be felt by residents of Raha. Although they live within sight of the hotels and the racetrack, their journey to the island's restaurants took about 20 minutes.

Imran Ellam, a sales and leasing consultant at Better Homes, believes the tunnel will boost the profile of Raha, which has had trouble competing with other freehold areas. "Similarly when they connected the Sheikh Khalifa freeway to the Al Reef development, a number of people who thought it was too far away quickly moved," he said. Mr Ghannoum agrees. "This tunnel is like the main artery to the heart," he said.