The first stage has been approved for Dh1.3b and the second stage is under consideration for approval. HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, has approved the budget for the implementation of the first stage of this rainwater and groundwater drainage project, which will serve Al Maktoum Airport area, the Expo 2020 area and the nearby urban areas covering 400 sq. kms., said HE Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality.

The second phase of the project is under consideration for approval, which will raise the total cost of the project to Dh2.5 billion, he added. “The project involves collecting and transporting of rain and groundwater through underground tunnels into the Gulf waters for disposal as a long-term solution to tackle the issue of rainwater drainage for the 100 years to come,” he said.

The rainwater drainage system will be able to discharge 6 million cubic metres of water, equivalent to 2,600 Olympic swimming pools, said Mohammad Ahmad Al Rayes, acting director of Sewage and Irrigation Department, adding that this capacity will be enough to protect Al Maktoum Airport, the Expo 2020 area and the surrounding areas from the risk of rainwater harvesting that will affect development operations and cause disruptions to activities in addition to the technical aspects of the project. “The new project will the government save millions of dirhams per year that was used for operations and maintenance of the usual infrastructure used in solving such problems,” he noted. Al Rayes said the underground rainwater drainage lines will be built using innovative tunnel technology, thus minimising the damage of construction works.