Under the Dirhams 680m ($US 185.1m) extension, Serco will continue to operate the network until 2021. This means the British firm will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the 15km Red Line extension, which is due to open in February 2020 ahead of Expo 2020, which Dubai will host in October.

The opening of the extension will take the network to 90km with more than 120 trains in operation at peak times.

“Serco has delivered operational performance levels on the Dubai Metro with a high train service availability of 99.9% and a punctuality of 99.8%, achieving a record of 204 million journeys in 2018,” says HE Mattar Al Tayer, RTA director general and chairman.

Serco has been responsible for the operation and maintenance of the network since the opening of the first line in September 2009.