The $545 million Dubai Water Canal project is nearing completion and is set to open in November, the local Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has said.

The new waterway links the Business Bay area with the Arabian Gulf in a 3km route passing through the historic heart of the city.

The RTA said via Twitter that its Traffic and Roads Agency had “started applying the final touches to the project”.

These works include “cleansing the water, removal of the sedimentation and refilling it from the sea… in addition to the paving of the pedestrian pathways in preparation for the official opening next November.”