We’re honored to announce that the Dubai Water Canal project won the International Road Federation’s Global Roads Achievement Award (GRAA) under the Urban Planning and Mobility category.

A uniquely challenging aspect of this project—owned by Roads & Transport Authority—was designing and arranging the detours, capacity, and speed limit for Sheikh Zayed Road to ensure it functioned without any traffic congestion issues during the Canal construction. Parsons provided infrastructure design and construction supervision services for the project (in a joint venture).

The Dubai Water Canal received several other awards this year at the MEED Quality Awards for Projects. It won multiple United Arab Emirates (UAE) national recognitions: Innovation Project of the Year, Leisure & Tourism Project of the Year, and Mega Project of the Year. The project also won the GCC Leisure & Tourism Project of the Year.

The GRAA is a one-of-a kind competition that recognizes innovative road projects and exemplary people that place the road industry at the forefront of worldwide social and economic development. Instituted in 2000, the Awards have distinguished more than 120 programs, projects and products from around the world. Today, the Awards are recognized as a prestigious industry accolade in their own right, but they also serve to remind a much wider audience that the mobility everyone takes for granted would not be possible without the talent and commitment of our industry. Winners were recognized at the IRF Middle East & North Africa Regional Congress & Exhibition, held October 29-31 in Dubai, UAE.

Parsons has been working in the MEA region for more than 60 years and has offices in all GCC-member countries. Our portfolio of ongoing work in the region includes buildings, residential communities, master planning and urban development, landscape architecture, mixed-use developments, airports, highways, bridges, rail & transit, ports, water infrastructure, and energy projects.