Emirates NBD helps secure $1bn for Dubai Metro’s $5.6bn Blue Line

Emirates NBD said Wednesday it has concluded AED 3.9bn ($1bn) Syndicated Bonding Facilities to a consortium that will deliver the new Dubai Metro ‘Blue Line’ Project.

In December 2024, Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) awarded a AED 20.5 billion contract for the 30 km Blue Line to a consortium comprising Turkey’s MAPA and LIMAK, along with Chinese state-owned CRRC.

Emirates NBD engaged with the consortium “as part of a seamless, comprehensive, and collaborative process,” it said in a statement.

Valued at AED 20.5 billion, the infrastructure initiative is a crucial component in Dubai’s 2040 Urban Master Plan to create, develop, and expand a world-class network of public transportation services and mobility solutions that connects communities with key locations, alleviates traffic congestion, and enables easier movement of people around the emirate.

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Scheduled for completion by September 2029, the Dubai Metro Blue Line will have 14 stations - five of which will be underground - to provide “seamless connections” with the existing Red and Green Metro lines, as well as bus and taxi routes. The project, which was officially announced by the RTA at the end of last year, is expected to serve approximately 350,000 daily passengers by 2040.

As a state-of-the-art electrified railway network, the Dubai Metro Blue Line project aligns with the Emirates NBD Sustainable Finance Framework, qualifying as Green Financing under the “Clean Transportation” category.

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Ahmed Al Qassim, Group Head of Wholesale Banking at Emirates NBD, said the project “will strategically and significantly empower the continuous development of the emirate by providing a rising population with new, efficient, accessible, and reliable public transportation and mobility solutions.”He said the transaction highlights “Emirates NBD’s status as the go-to banking partner for diverse mega projects that are transforming Dubai’s landscape, capabilities, and global appeal.”

Murathan Doruk Günal, Vice President & CEO at MAPA, said: “The successful closing of the financing with Emirates NBD marks a key milestone and reflects the trust placed in our consortium’s ability to deliver complex, high-impact projects” while Serdar Bacaksız, Board Member at Limak Group of Companies was quoted as saying that the Blue Line project “is a testament to Dubai’s forward-thinking approach to urban development.”