Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) awarded contracts for AED 703 million ($191 million) for construction work of the fourth and fifth phases of the Dubai Water Canal Project, reported Trade Arabia.

The canal will extend for 3 kilometers, with a width ranging from 80 to 120 meters, and a depth of up to 6 meters.

The fourth phase will cost an estimated AED 307 million ($84 million) and includes infrastructural works required to serve property development areas on both sides of the canal, and roads and utility lines, said a statement from RTA.

Construction for the fifth phase, which costs about AED 396 million ($108 million), will link the Business Bay Canal with Dubai Water Canal ending at the Arabian Gulf.

Works include building quay walls along the stretch of the canal, completing and diverting utility lines and key services to give way for completing the construction works, said the RTA statement.

“Construction works in the Dubai Water Canal are progressing according to the approved time chart, and the completion rate has reached 92 per cent in the bridge of the SZR,” said Mattar Al Tayer, the director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of RTA.

“RTA has recently opened the northern bridge of the SZR in the direction from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Completion rate in the Abu Dhabi-bound southern bridge has reached 81 per cent, and the bridge is expected to be opened in July this year,” added Al Tayer.

The Dubai Water Canal Project was unveiled in October 2013 and will pose a unique tourist landmark development in the heart of the city.