Dubai reaped $18bn in benefits from Metro system - The National

Dubai reaped $18bn in benefits from Metro system - The National:

The Dubai Metro system, which opened almost a decade ago, added an estimated Dh66 billion ($18bn) to Dubai’s economy by 2016 and accumulated future returns are set to exceed four times what it cost to build the metro by 2030, according to a government-commissioned study.

The metro, which opened in September 2009 and comprises the red and green lines, has cost Dh41bn to build and operate, according to a report by Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Henley Business School at the University of Reading in the UK.

This means every dirham spent on the Dubai Metro yielded a return of 1.6 dirhams to the emirate’s economy in 2016 in the form of fare revenues, new jobs and other benefits. That return will rise to 2.5 dirhams and 4.3 dirhams in 2020 and 2030, the report said.