DUBAI'S Roads & Transport Authority named Serco as preferred bidder for the contract to operate and maintain the first two lines of the Dubai Metro on June 19. 
The contract is valued at more than £400m over 12½ years, and begins this summer with a pre-launch consultancy and planning phase. The first section of the 52·1 km east-west Red Line from Rashidiya to Jebel Ali will open in autumn 2009, and will be followed in 2010 by the 17·6 km Green Line between Dubai Airport Free Zone and Healthcare City. The operations and maintenance contract will run for five years from the first opening, with an option for a five-year extension.
Serco will run the operations control centre, and maintain the Mitsubishi rolling stock, track and station facilities. It will also provide all station staff and attendants on the fully-automated trains, which are expected to carry 200 million passengers a year. Serco Chief Executive Christopher Hyman said 'We are delighted to have been selected as a partner to the RTA and look forward to delivering their landmark service in Dubai's public transport infrastructure. Serco has developed an excellent reputation for delivering quality metro systems and we will work hard to ensure we meet the trust the Dubai Government has placed in us.'
- Parsons Brinckerhoff has signed a contract to provide initial designs and consultancy services for the 10bn dirham 49 km Purple Line between the Dubai and Jebel Ali international airports.
