UAE ministry seeks bids for 68 km Dubai-RAK highway

The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure invited consultancy bids by Oct. 23 for the 68-kilometre E-911 highway, Khaleej Times reported on Oct. 21, citing tender documents.

The project would add a fourth federal highway alongside three existing routes and carry 12 to 16 lanes across both directions, with an estimated Dh6 billion cost previously reported by Khaleej Times.

The tender covers engineering consultancy and design services for a road running from the Dubai-Sharjah border to Al Shuhada Road, known as E-87, in Ras Al Khaimah. The plan also includes an 8-kilometre connector to Emirates Road, or E-611, in Umm Al Quwain.

Khaleej Times said the tender documents show the alignment has been cleared by local emirate authorities and that concept design work is complete. Under Tender number 2026-022, the chosen consultant would check that design, carry out technical studies and investigations, and prepare preliminary and detailed designs and tender documents.

The ministry invited Category A consultants, the tender’s eligible class of engineering firms, to submit bids by Oct. 23. The tender step advances design work but does not, on the information provided, give a construction start date or completion schedule for E-911.

The corridor is planned to sit beside Al Ittihad Road, or E-11; Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, or E-311; and Emirates Road, or E-611. The UAE government’s official portal describes E-11 as the country’s longest highway, extending from Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah, while E-311 links emirates and E-611 offers another route between Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates.

The Fourth Federal Corridor was reviewed by the UAE Infrastructure and Housing Council at its first meeting of 2026. Khaleej Times previously reported that the road is expected to include 10 major intersections and four flyovers.

Congestion pressure

The council said the project aims to strengthen inter-emirate connectivity, expand road capacity and reduce congestion. At the same meeting, it reviewed proposals for 10 public-transport routes between Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, supported by Bus Rapid Transit systems, meaning high-capacity bus services that use dedicated lanes and frequent stops.

Traffic between Dubai and the Northern Emirates has become a recurring issue at the Federal National Council. In March 2025, FNC member Dr Adnan Al Hammadi asked the ministry about congestion between Dubai and Sharjah and said a commuter between the two emirates could spend about 460 hours a year on the road, close to 60 working days.

Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei said at the time that development work on federal road corridors had started in 2024 and was continuing, according to Khaleej Times. He also said vehicle growth in Dubai had exceeded 8%, compared with a global average of about 2%.

Al Hammadi raised the matter again in April 2026, citing population growth, vehicle registrations and congestion. In response, Al Mazrouei said a major project was under way to address traffic between Sharjah and Dubai and said the Fourth Federal Corridor was planned to handle about 360,000 trips per day.

The corridor forms part of a broader national roads and transport programme. In November 2025, Al Mazrouei announced a Dh170 billion investment programme through 2030 that included widening the three existing major federal highways and studying a fourth route.

Next milestones

The first check is the Oct. 23 deadline for Category A consultancy bids under Tender number 2026-022. The observable step is whether the ministry receives bids, extends the deadline or changes the tender.

The longer-dated marker is the national roads and transport investment programme running through 2030. Future updates would show how the E-911 corridor fits with the planned expansion of existing federal highways.