The 10th Sariq Gate, located in Al Safa South, Dubai, is currently under construction but is not yet operational. As UAE Breaking learned over the weekend, the toll plazas have been installed between Al Meydan and Umm Al Sheikh streets on either side of Sheikh Zayed Road.
There are no stickers or markings to identify the toll plazas yet, but they have the same structure and silvery panels equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to detect and scan the Sariq tags of vehicles passing through
Dubai’s monopoly toll plaza operator, Sariq PJSC, has yet to issue any new statements regarding the new plazas, but Sariq CEO Ibrahim Al Haddad confirmed to UAE Breaking in an exclusive interview in early September that the two companies are working on: The new toll booth is expected to be up and running by the end of November.
Open for Business
Al-Haddad previously said “everything is going according to plan and we do not expect any delays (in building the new toll booth).”
“Prior to its opening, Dubai Roads and Transport Authority and Salik PJSC will issue a corresponding public notice,” he said, adding: “I am also very pleased to point out that both new toll plazas will be powered by almost 100 percent solar energy. This is a first for Salik and something we have wanted to achieve for some time.”
Salik also previously stated: “Similar to Al Mamzar North and South toll plazas, the upcoming Al Safa South toll plaza will be connected to the existing toll plazas. The Al Safa North toll plazas will be connected – meaning motorists will only have to pay the toll once if they pass through the two toll plazas in the same direction within an hour.”
Every time a vehicle passes through the Salik toll plaza, RFID technology is used to recognize the vehicle and scan the Salik sticker. A toll of 4 dirhams will be automatically debited from the driver’s prepaid toll account.
Where are they?
The Al Safa South toll plaza on Sheikh Zayed Road towards Abu Dhabi is located just after crossing the Dubai Water Bridge, directly in front of Medcare Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital.
The opposite toll plaza towards Sharjah is between United Arab Bank and Pupil of Fate Motors, just before you turn right onto Al Meydan Street or left onto Al Hadiqah Jumeirah.
Impact of the new toll plaza
Al Haddad previously told UAE Breaking that, regarding Al Safa South Gate, “we expect it will improve the distribution of traffic flow between Financial Centre Street and Meydan Street. This will reduce right-turn traffic from Sheikh Zayed Road onto Meydan Street by 15 percent, redirecting traffic onto the wider First Al Khail Street and Al Asaer Street.”
He reiterated that Al Safa South Gate is an engineering solution connected to the existing Al Safa North Gate. “This means that those who pass through both North and South Safa Gates within an hour will only pay one toll.”
He also explained that the upcoming Business Bay Crossing Gate is expected to “reduce traffic congestion on Al Khail Road. Traffic volume on Al Rabat Street is expected to decrease by 10 to 16 percent.”
Will the tolls at Sariq be increased?
Al Haddad asserted that “the toll adjustment is the RTA’s decision and is subject to approval by the Dubai Executive Council.” He also said that “there is no fixed timeline for the construction of the new toll gates,” the one that will open in November, and further explained: “The introduction of new toll stations will primarily depend on traffic volumes and congestion and will depend on the results of technical and traffic studies.”
“The objective is to make Dubai’s transport more efficient and improve traffic flows on the road network. The expansion of the toll system will depend on the results of a Transport Strategy Assessment reviewed and updated by the RTA, which may include adding additional positions, adjusting toll rates and introducing dynamic pricing. However, any change in the tolls requires a go-ahead from Dubai Executive Council,” he clarified.
Dubai currently has eight Sariq gates in operation: Al Mamzar North, Al Mamzar South, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge, Airport Tunnel, Al Safa, Al Barsha and Jebel Ali.
Last year, around 593 million trips passed through the Sariq toll gate. From January to June this year, 238.5 million trips passed through the eight toll gates, resulting in first-half revenue of AED 1.1 billion, up 5.6 percent from the same period last year.
