Change set in train for Dubai

Even last year, the infamous commute between the northern emirate of Sharjah and Dubai’s Jebel Ali port and industrial zone could mean drivers spending up to four hours a day in their cars.

The combination of deadlocked traffic and rocketing property prices combined to form a powerful disincentive to doing business in Dubai.

So it is with some irony that, as the city’s new metro opens next week, its traffic problems have eased, having fallen victim to the sharp economic downturn.