UAE master developer Nakheel has awarded a contract worth Dh447 million ($122 million) for the construction of a 12-lane bridge connecting Deira Islands, its premium tourism, leisure, retail and entertainment hub, with the Dubai mainland.

The 600-m bridge, being constructed by Wade Adams Contracting under the supervision of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), will provide the main access route to the new, 15.3-sq-km waterfront city, said the developer.

Work began in May, and is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2020, it added. 

Announcing the awarding of the contract, Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said: “We thank the RTA for its ongoing assistance and co-operation for our transport links at Deira Islands, where we have now invested more than Dh8.5 billion ($2.31 billion) in infrastructure and construction contracts, with more on the way.

“The bridge starts at Al Khaleej Road on the mainland and leads to Deira Islands A, where several new Nakheel developments, including Deira Islands Night Souk, Deira Mall and RIU and Centara resorts are currently under construction.”

Nakheel said it has around 25,000 residential units under construction or in the pipeline across the country.

Once completed, Deira Islands will be a world-class hub for tourism, leisure, retail and entertainment, and a key contributor to the government of Dubai’s tourism vision. The project will add 40 km of new coastline to Dubai, house 250,000 residents and create 80,000 new jobs, it added.