Property Developer Damac Buys Naming Rights For Dubai Metro Station

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed an agreement with Damac Properties, selling the naming rights of the Dubai Marina station, situated on the red line of Dubai Metro.

The property firm is the latest to join a number of companies who have bought rights to brand various metro stations.

The agreement is a part of the RTA’s naming rights project, which aims to raise revenue for Dubai Metro through branding. The naming rights for a station could cost up to Dhs40 million for a 10-year period, depending on the location.

Other Dubai Metro stations that have been named after private entities include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Etisalat, Gulf General Investment Company (GGICO), Sharaf DG, First Gulf Bank, Nakheel, The Palm Deira, Nakheel Harbour & Tower, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Noor Bank, Burjuman Center, and Danube.

“The Dubai metro has proved to be a model for the success of mass transit systems in the emirate, and we pride ourselves on renaming the Dubai Marina station as DAMAC Station, given the strategic location of the station amongst key touristic and residential districts in Dubai Marina,” said Hussain Sajwani, chairman and CEO of DAMAC Properties.

“Four of our projects, the Marina Terrace-the Waves, Ocean Heights and DAMAC Heights are a short distance From the DAMAC station.”

In an interview with the local daily The National, an RTA official said that the agency has so far earned up Dhs2 billion by selling the naming rights of 13 stations.

The public transport agency was also able to cover 60 per cent of its operation and maintenance costs for the metro through such revenues, according to Abdul Mohsin Younes, chief executive of strategy and corporate governance at the RTA.

By 2017, the RTA is planning to cover 100 per cent of the metro system’s operating costs through selling the naming rights, he added.