The 10th Salik gate in Dubai – located in Al Safa South – is now up but not yet operational. Located between Al Meydan Street and Umm Al Sheif Street, toll gates have been put up on both sides of Sheikh Zayed Road, Khaleej Times has learned over the weekend.
There are no decals or markings yet identifying the toll gates but they have the same structure and silver boards that contain Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that will be used to detect and scan Salik tags on passing vehicles.
Salik Company PJSC – Dubai’s exclusive toll gate operator – has yet to issue a fresh statement on the new toll gate but Salik CEO Ibrahim Al Haddad confirmed to Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview in early September that the two new toll gates will be operational by the end of November.
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The other new Salik – the ninth toll gate – is located on Business Bay Crossing along Al Khail Road. Its exact location was reported by Khaleej Times last month.
Commencement of operations
Al Haddad earlier said: “Everything is on track, and we are not expecting any delays,” (regarding construction of new toll gates).
“A subsequent announcement will be issued to the public by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and Salik PJSC prior to the commencement of operations,” he noted, adding: “We are also very pleased to highlight that both new toll gates will be almost 100 per cent solar powered, which is a first for Salik and something that we have been focused on achieving for some time.”
Salik also earlier explained: “Similar to Al Mamzar North and South toll gates, the upcoming Al Safa South gate will be linked with the existing Al Safa North gate – meaning, motorists will be charged only once if they pass through the two gates within one hour in the same direction.”
Each time a vehicle passes through a Salik toll gate, the RFID technology detects the vehicle and scans the Salik sticker tag. A toll fee of Dh4 is automatically deducted from the motorist’s prepaid toll account.
Where are they located?
The Al Safa South gate on Sheikh Zayed Road heading towards Abu Dhabi is located right after going down Dubai Water Canal bridge, right in front of MedCare Orthopedics and Spine Hospital.
The toll gate on the other side – in the direction going towards Sharjah – is located between United Arab Bank and Pupil of Fate Motors, right before making a right turn to Al Meydan Street or before taking the ramp going left to Al Hadiqa Road towards Jumeirah.
Impact of new toll gates
Al Haddad earlier explained to Khaleej Times: For Al Safa South gate, “we expect to improve flow of traffic allocation between Financial Centre Street and Meydan Street. It will reduce right-turn traffic volume from Sheikh Zayed Road to Meydan Street by 15 per cent; and redistribute traffic to use the larger First Al Khail Street and Al Asayel Street.”
He reiterated that Al Safa South gate is a technical solution linked with the existing northern Al Safa gate. “This means there is just a single payment for those passing through both the northern and southern Safa gates within an hour.”
He also explained with the upcoming Business Bay Crossing gate, “traffic congestion is expected to reduce on Al Khail Road by 12 to 15 per cent, while traffic volume on Al Rabat Street is expected to reduce by 10 to 16 per cent.”
Wil Salik fees increase?
Al Haddad categorically said, “any adjustments to the tariffs are a decision for the RTA and are subject to approval by the Executive Council of Dubai.”
He also noted, “there is no fixed schedule for new toll gates,” (aside from those opening in November), further explaining, “the introduction of a new toll gate primarily rests on traffic and congestion levels and depends on the outcomes of technical and traffic studies”.
“The goal is to make transportation in Dubai more efficient and enhance traffic flow across the road networks. The expansion of tolling systems – whether through adding gates, adjusting toll fees, or implementing dynamic pricing relies on the results of transport strategy assessments reviewed and updated by the RTA. However, any changes to toll rates would require a green light from Dubai’s Executive Council,” he clarified.
Currently, there are eight operational Salik gates located across Dubai. These are Al Mamzar North, Al Mamzar South, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge, Airport Tunnel, Al Safa, Al Barsha and Jebel Ali.
Last year, about 593 million journeys went through Salik’s toll gates. From January to June this year, 238.5 million trips passed through the eight toll gates, resulting in Dh1.1 billion half-year revenue, up by 5.6 per cent from the same period last year.