The Roads and Trans-port Authority (RTA) will be embarking on a groundbreaking property development, which will bring Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) to the region, when its planned Dubai MetroCities is taken off the drawing boards “sometime soon”.

According to an RTA source, no fixed date has been marked for the start of construction.
However, land that is in proximity to the Dubai Metro is already being snapped up by private developers including KM Properties. The land, in this case, is being sold on a 35-year leasehold, say sources.
According to the RTA, the world’s leading real estate services and money management firm Jones Lang LaSalle will advise it on the global marketing campaign and the planning and the implementation of the programme.
Dubai MetroCities will be the first communities exclusively planned for Transit Oriented Development (TOD). TOD is the world standard of seamless integration of high-quality development with inter-modal transit facilities. Developments centered around the transit are among the most stable and fundamentally sound, and, as a result, are among the most valuable property investments in the world. They are active and dynamic places where a 24-hour lifestyle can be fully realised.
Dubai MetroCities will be unique iconic developments that will be strategically positioned around key metro stations traversing the metro line like a string of pearls, creating a pinnacle in TOD, say the sources. According to the plan, these MetroCities will crop up throughout Dubai, including Deira, Al Rashidiya, near the heritage areas of the gold and spice suqs along the Creek, with some dotting the Sheikh Zayed Road.
Covering more than 600 hectares of available land, Dubai MetroCities will constitute the largest undertaking of TOD-planned communities in the world, offering developers the unique opportunity to benefit from locations developed with a transit focus.
According to the RTA, “this will result in an optimal mix of uses, higher densities, increased developable area, improved liveability and convenience. This will inevitably translate into higher values for developers.”
 The RTA, which is seeking development partners to realise this vision, is planning a programme incorporating a transparent and dynamic marketing campaign that will attract the world’s best developers to Dubai.
 The developers will be invited to submit development proposals and financial considerations for plots of land that will be released by RTA. According to the RTA, “developers will be selected based on a combination of development expertise, financial strength, concept and design ingenuity and the ability to deliver the proposed projects”.
Successful bidders will benefit from having the RTA as a development partner, who will provide development certainty and a commitment and dedication to realising Dubai’s first TOD communities.
The advantages of such a project are manifold. When they are a reality, Dubai MetroCities will become highly sought-after locations for major employers and residents alike. Those who choose to live, work, and play at these cities will benefit from reduced car dependence, allowing more time to conduct business, entertain guests, or relax with family and friends.
With Dubai MetroCities, the RTA will seek to employ “smart growth” strategies that will enable developments to have healthy impacts on the environment and the community at large. The project will concentrate high-density development at the metro stations with a mix of uses.