Dubai's RTA unveils plans for an underground transport network, led by the Dubai Loop

At the Mohammed bin Rashid Leadership Forum on 13 October 2026, the head of Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Mattar Al Tayer, set out plans for an integrated underground network to move people and goods beneath the city. The centrepiece is the Dubai Loop, a system of autonomous electric vehicles running through tunnels. For buyers weighing where to purchase in central Dubai, the announcement signals how the city intends to handle a fast-growing population without adding more cars to the surface.

What was announced

According to The National, 13 October 2026, the Dubai Loop is planned as a 22-kilometre network with 19 stations, with an estimated total cost of around Dh2 billion. According to The National, 13 October 2026, the first phase, costed at Dh565 million, would connect the DIFC area to Dubai Mall, with stops serving Burj Khalifa, DIFC 2, the Zabeel Dubai Mall parking area and ICD Brookfield Place.

Al Tayer framed the tunnels as part of a wider shift toward autonomous and sustainable mobility. According to The National, 13 October 2026, Dubai's population reached 4.58 million at the end of 2025, a 7.5 per cent year-on-year rise, and the number of people moving around the city during the day is expected to roughly double by 2040. The RTA has set a goal for one in four journeys to be autonomous by 2030.

What it means for buyers and investors

The first phase traces the Downtown and DIFC corridor, already one of the densest clusters of offices, hotels and branded residences in the city. A dedicated underground link between these addresses would reduce dependence on congested surface roads for short trips, which matters to both end-users and tenants who value quick access to the business district.

At this stage the project is a plan rather than a confirmed timetable, so there is no completion date to price in yet. Buyers can treat the Dubai Loop as one more indication of where the city is directing transport investment, alongside the Metro and Etihad Rail, rather than as a basis for assuming any particular change in values.