Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) recently partnered with Elon Musk’s The Boring Company to develop the Dubai Loop, a 17-kilometer underground tunnel project.
The project, announced by the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar Sultan Al Olama at the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2025 in Dubai. This aims to revolutionize urban mobility by reducing travel time and traffic congestion in the city’s busiest areas.
The MoU was signed by Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA; and John Hering, Lead Investor and Senior Advisor to The Boring Company, in the presence of senior officials from both sides.
Key features of the Dubai Loop
- 17km tunnel network connecting densely populated neighborhoods.
- 11 stations for seamless point-to-point travel.
- Electric vehicles travelling at speeds up to 160 km/h, ensuring zero emissions.
- Capacity to transport 20,000 passengers hourly, expandable to 100,000 in future phases.
- Cut down travel time to just minutes, with a potential speed of up to 100 mph.
- Minimal surface disruption due to advanced tunnel-boring technology.
Taking to X, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Crown Prince of Dubai said, “the project reflects Dubai’s commitment to advancing new cutting-edge mobility solutions.”
“Dubai’s spirit of innovation thrives on strong partnerships with global industry leaders. Under the leadership of @HHShkMohd, the city continues to redefine the future of transportation, both above and below ground, setting new benchmarks for sustainability, efficiency, and urban connectivity,” he added.
The Dubai Loop is set to cover the city’s most populated areas and would help transport people underground in a seamless manner, said Omar Sultan AlOlama, the UAE’s minister of state for artificial intelligence, digital economy and remote work applications
“It’s gonna be like a wormhole — you just wormhole from one part of the city, boom, and you’re out in another part of the city,” Musk said by videolink at the WGS in Dubai.
He added, “I think (when) people try it out, they’ll be like, ‘This is really cool.’ And it’s so obvious in retrospect, but until you actually do it you don’t know.”
The Boring Company will deploy its custom Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) and vertically integrated construction approach to reduce costs and accelerate timelines. Similar systems, like the Las Vegas Loop, have already transported 2 million passengers since 2021.
