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Abu Dhabi: The roads of Abu Dhabi have outgrown their capacity, declares a report by the Department of Planning and Economy (DPE).
The report calls for heavy investment in infrastructure development of the capital in order to support current and future economic boom.
Statistics released yesterday indicate that the UAE loses about Dh5 billion a year due to road congestion.
Titled 'Traffic congestion and taxi cabs in Abu Dhabi city', the comprehensive report says that the multifaceted problem of traffic congestion is assuming a heavy economic toll.
Columns of cars waiting to get past signals have become a familiar sight during any time of the day, with 45 minutes being the average time taken by motorists to get to their work. But this becomes all too understandable when one looks at the increase in number of vehicles in the city.
From 242,409 vehicles in 2000, the number has doubled to 526,161 in 2007. As of April this year, the number stands at 559,000. By 2015, it is estimated that this would reach a staggering 1 million vehicles. The question is whether or not the infrastructure has bettered in the same pace.
"It is imperative to invest more heavily on infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, internal transport system, air and seaports, in addition to water and electricity services," the report says. Notably, the rate of increase in vehicles is twice as high compared to the population growth rate.
"Internal roads are no longer able to absorb large fleets of new vehicles that are being added year after year. This constitutes a direct threat to economic growth and indeed to the very competitive investment edge of Abu Dhabi."
Apart from time wasted in road blocks, congestion causes corrosive social and health effects as well, which undoubtedly take its toll on the overall production and performance.
The emerging economic projects will bring along new traffic problems of their own, notes the report. The increase in population along with influx of foreign workforce are key factors.
Besides the burgeoning rate of increase in vehicles, the lack of an efficient public transport system is cited as a major drawback.
"Public transport infrastructure is particularly critical in view of some staggering estimates which indicate that the number of vehicles will increase to about one million by 2015. This is obviously a recipe for myriad of traffic problems in the emirate," the report says.
The government has already embarked on its 'Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision' to forestall road congestion and its ramifications by overhaul of the public transportation system.
The increased car ownership also has to do with shortage of taxis. There has only been a marginal increase in number of taxis from 8,039 in 1995 to 8,741 in April 2008. While the taxis have grown only by 8.7 per cent, the population has grown 69.9 per cent during the same period.
The population of the emirate is projected to increase to 2.5 millions in 2015, and more significantly to 4 million in 2025 as compared to just 1.7 million in 2008.
Fatalities: Speeding is top killer
Speed is the main cause of human fatalities and property loss in traffic accidents on highways. Some 25 out of every 100 people die in road accidents in the UAE, which is three-fold higher than some Western countries.
One person dies every eight hours in road accidents. Most of the victims are young UAE nationals.
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