Dubai has announced plans to invest $8 billion in a stormwater drainage system, two months after unprecedented flooding completely blocked the desert city.
The rainwater drainage network, announced by Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Network X, is due to be completed by 2033 and construction will begin immediately.
“It will cover all areas of Dubai and absorb more than 20 million cubic meters of water per day,” Maktoum said of the infrastructure plan for the business center of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He said it will “increase the rainwater runoff capacity in this emirate by 700 percent and increase the emirate’s readiness to face future climate challenges.”
Maktoum emphasized that it will be the largest network of its kind in the region, AFP reported.
Record-breaking rains lashed the UAE on April 16, flooding homes and turning streets into rivers. Due to a lack of drainage, the downpour flooded Dubai Airport, the world’s busiest hub for international air passengers.
According to media reports, at least four people were killed in the heaviest rainfall in the Emirates in the previous 75 years. Authorities have not released an official number of victims.
