RTA to open new water routes to Lebanon Island

RTA to open new water routes to Lebanon Island

Roads and Transport Authority - Manal Khaled

The Public Transport Agency, Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), is considering to open shortly new commercial water routes via Ferry Dubai to Lebanon Island located at the World Island, in coordination with the Island such that visitors can access the Island and enjoy all services in place.

During the participation of the Public Transport Agency in the Dubai International Yacht Exhibition, which was recently held by Dubai World Trade Centre at Mina Seyahi aimed at establishing a constant channel of communication between the RTA and its strategic partners, the CEO of Public Transport Agency Essa Al Dosari, said: "The opening of a new water route to Lebanon Island comes as part of the new projects to be undertaken by the Agency in the near future. This participation also aims to showcasing some future projects about the potentials of providing other transit services in The World islands and inaugurating other tourism water lines along Dubai coasts. Such services aim at boosting the marine transit modes and ensuring their integrity with the transportation system in the emirate."

"We, at the Public Transport Agency, are keen on participating in this annual showpiece since 2008 as we are confident in the importance of exhibiting a host of marine transit services to a large segment of exhibition visitors. Moreover, the RTA seeks to attach the same level of importance to all services be it marine or land transport," added Al Dosari, pointing out that the Agency's continued participation in the expo would significantly contribute to keeping the RTA informed of the latest and environment-friendly operating systems of marine engines, meeting designers and manufacturers of boat & yachts worldwide, and opting for the best ones in order to develop our marine services," added Al Dosari.

"Our participation in this ongoing exhibition has been positive, given the tremendous response received various community segments, categories and businesses, who were keen to visit RTA's stand and get acquainted with all marine transit means available for the public, be it Ferry Dubai, Water Taxi, Water Bus, or Abras. Besides that a team of qualified employees with excellent communication skills, have been deployed to provide visitors with necessary information about our marine transport services. Various brochures and leaflets on these services have been distributed along with tickets for Ferry Dubai & Water Taxi and Nol cards at the stand, which witnessed huge turnout," continued Al Dosari.

Al Dossari also touched on to transporting visitors from car-parks to the expo venue via 3 water buses in a trips taking 7-10 minutes in order to ease the congestion, and avail visitors a picturesque scenery of Dubai beaches, as well as introducing this mode of transport to the visitors with a view to increasing its ridership in future as it offers both comfort and safety at the same time.

The World Dubai:RTA signs strategic partnership pact with Royal Island Beach Club

RTA signs strategic partnership pact with Royal Island Beach Club

The Roads & Transport Authority – Nashwan Attaa'ee:
The Public Transport Agency at the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) and the Royal Island Beach Club, the owner of Lebanon Island, The World islands, have agreed to operate marine transit means, namely Water Taxi and Ferry Dubai, at the Club-owned Lebanon Island; the first island to be opened in The World project.

To this effect, a strategic partnership agreement in a form of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has recently been signed between the Public Transport Agency and the Royal Island Beach Club at the Head Office of the Agency in Dubai.

For the RTA the Agreement was signed by the Acting CEO of Public Transport Agency Ahmed Al Hammadi, and for the Royal Island Beach Club the signing was made by the CEO of the Club Wakil Ahmed Azmi in the presence of several directors and managers from both parties.
Al Hammadi reiterated RTA's serious endeavours to open up joint cooperative channels with the tourist operators in the UAE through launching joint ventures and reciprocal activities in the field of marine transport in Dubai with a view to boosting tourism in the Emirate and keeping abreast of the progress afoot in this field.

"The objectives of signing this Agreement revolve around achieving mutual benefits through outlining the framework of the partnership relationships between both parties. Specifically, it calls for making joint efforts to improve the performance & efficiency of marine transit services such as the Water Taxi and Ferry Dubai services, engaging in new investment prospects in commercial marine transport services, cooperating in the fields of advertising & marketing to promote RTA's marine transit modes through profiling the Water Bus, Water Taxi and Ferry Dubai in the Club's media channels including its website, and broadening the reach of RTA's marine transit means, namely Water Taxi and Ferry Dubai.
"In keeping with the current & future drive of the Dubai Government to enhance the interaction between the public & private sectors, the RTA has opened communication channels and held meetings with developers in the private sector. In this regard the Public Transport Agency has kicked off this drive by inviting the Royal Island Beach Club to sign this Agreement as an initial step down the track of prospective activities between the two parties," continued Al Hammadi.

He articulated RTA's readiness to play a vital role in developing tourism, and effectively contributing to broadening the scope of tourism in general and tourist transport in particular out of its belief in the vitality of supplementing the tourist sector with this service; which, he says, is a key pillar of tourist sector's business and an important source of generating income in this regard.

For his part the CEO of the Royal Island Beach Club Wakil Ahmed Azmi was delighted with the signing of this Agreement with the RTA, considering it one of the key initiatives undertaken by the Club in one of the most booming sectors in Dubai Emirate. He also expressed the Club's willingness to cooperate with the Public Transport Agency in promoting the tourist marine transport.

"This Agreement is a crucial step in establishing the pillars of joint cooperation between the two parties for serving the tourist & service sectors in Dubai Emirate," said Azmi in a final remark.

The World and Palm Jumeirah from the Goldcrest Views roof, September 2009

World First for Nakheel – Success for Unique Coral Translocation, One Year On

World First for Nakheel – Success for Unique Coral Translocation, One Year On


- 1,129 five-tonne coral-covered rocks relocated from Dubai Dry Docks to The World, with 93 per cent undamaged
- Coral ecosystem thrives at new location

Dubai, 2 June 2009: Nakheel, Dubai’s master developer, has finally revealed the details of the success of its unique method of transporting more than 5,500 tonnes of coral from one site to another, in an unprecedented move made possible through the efforts of academics and marine life experts.
With a method which had never before been tried anywhere in the world and over a period of seven weeks, between April and June 2008, a total of 1,129 rocks with an average weight of 5 tonnes were relocated from Dubai Dry Docks to The World breakwaters. The rocks, which cover an area of 6,560 m2 (about the size of a football pitch) were, and now continue to be, home to 18 species of coral and more than 30 species of fish plus various sponges, sea-squirts and urchins.
Initial findings of monitoring undertaken by Dr. John Burt of the Natural Science and Public Health department at Zayed University showed that one year on, the transported marine ecosystem is thriving, with more than 93 per cent of the coral undamaged and responding well to its new habitat.
A decision was taken to move the coral based on potential environmental impacts of proposed construction activities in the area surrounding Dubai Dry Docks. To minimise the damage to corals from traditional removal methods – which typically include the use of crow-bars, underwater drills and cranes – a new technique was developed by the environmental team at Nakheel. A bolt was drilled into each rock and attached to a sling used to hoist the rocks to a depth of three metres below the water surface for attachment to a transport barge. The corals remained suspended in the water throughout the relocation process, minimising stress and damage to the corals.
Brendan Jack, Head of Sustainability and Environment, Nakheel Northern Projects, comments:
“We are delighted with the success of the coral translocation project at The World. The methods used are a world first, and one year on have been hailed by independent parties as a resounding success. The activity demonstrates Nakheel’s commitment to innovation and excellence and we intend that what we have learned here can be used in similar projects in the future to protect marine environments and ecosystems.”
Monitoring of the coral was conducted by Dr. John Burt of the Natural Science and Public Health department at Zayed University. His studies revealed minimal breakages and stress of the corals on the rocks - with 93 per cent successfully translocated and healthy one year on from the move. This new method resulted in much lower damage rates than found when using traditional methods of translocation and is an important step towards sustainable coastal development.
Dr. John Burt, an assistant professor at Zayed University adds:
“I have worked closely with Nakheel throughout all stages of the project, from planning, to execution, to monitoring of the site afterwards. A project on this scale has never before been attempted and I am delighted with the results we are seeing at The World thanks to the unique method of translocation. The project marks an important step in our understanding of the methods of coral translocation, and Nakheel is to be commended for its efforts to protect the coral community at the Dubai Dry Docks.
“The coral translocation area has attracted a number of species of reef fishes that are less common elsewhere in that area, including a number of commercially important species. In addition, as many of the transplanted corals are ‘broadcast spawners’, it is likely that they will seed the surrounding breakwater through their reproductive activities, resulting in the development of coral communities on nearby rocky structures.”
Nakheel is a global leader in innovative coastal real estate development and has made a commitment to foster sustainable design, development and management practices of coastal communities in Dubai and around the globe. Nakheel has its own dedicated Environment resources and through a number of initiatives, aims to achieve greater levels of environmental understanding throughout the Gulf region.