Dubai’s transport authority has outlined the timeline for tenders for construction of the ‘Route 2020’ metro line, which is scheduled to begin early next year.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said more than 100 rail contractors attended a gathering to discuss the new line, which will extend 15km between the Nakheel Harbour and Tower station and the Expo 2020 site.

“The RTA will start receiving requests for pre-qualification as of May 31 this year, and the shortlist of consortiums qualified to undertake the project will be selected on June 30 this year,” said Mattar Al Tayer, chairman and executive director of the RTA.

On July 2, the RTA will release the tender documents and on December 6 will start receiving proposals, Al Tayer added. The winning consortium is set to be announced on January 28.

“Construction work on [the] ‘Route 2020’ project will start once the contract is awarded in the first quarter of 2016,” he added.

The new rail link is expected to be up and running by the start of the Expo 2020.