New tunnels to reduce Sharjah-Khor Fakkan travel time to 45 minutes

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, will be inaugurating five tunnels along the Sharjah-Khor Fakkan road and Al Rafisah Dam rest stop or recreational centre on Saturday. The road, which includes the 2.7km Al Sidra tunnel that is also the longest covered tunnel in the Middle East, will run for 89 kilometres at its completion.

According to an official video posted by Sharjah Media, the new road will bring the journey time from Sharjah to Khor Fakkan to just 45 minutes. Currently, the shortest travel time to Khor Fakkan from Sharjah as per Google maps is a 108 minute drive (135km). Travelers from Dubai would need nearly two hours to reach Khor Fakkan.

Al Sidra is the last of five tunnels which have been completed along the Sharjah-Khor Fakkan road that begins from Emirates Road and ends in Khor Fakkan.

The four other tunnels are Al Saqab at 1.4km, Al Rogh at 1.3km, Al Ghazeer at 0.9km, and Al Sahah at 0.3km. Al Rafisah Dam recreation centre has parking spaces for 45 cars, a mosque which can house 120 male and 20 female worshippers, and three playgrounds, as per Al Khaleej report.

Whilst visiting Al Rafisah Dam in February 2017, Sheikh Sultan saw the magnificent view and ordered a recreation centre be built there.

Eng. Yousef Al Othmani, Head of Branch Affairs at the Directorate of Town Planning and Surveying in the Eastern Region, said that the recreational centre helps to attract residential footfall and tourists to Khor Fakkan.

The centre also includes a popular restaurant that overlooks the lake, with four shops promoting regional heritage and environmental products.

It will also house a Sharjah Co-operative Society outlet and a 50-boat docking facility. A 55-metre industrial waterfall with a stunning view of the lake has seats for families and a play area for children.

Al Othmani pointed out that the planning department has restored the Wadi Shea Fortress as well as the old plantations. It established a 730-metre walkway bedecked with palm trees. The path hugs the mountain's edge, starting from the dam, passing through the plantations, then reaching the fort.

Engineer Shannan Abu Bakr, head of the Agriculture Division of Khor Fakkan Municipality, said that their agriculture division planted green fields, palms and flowers of various types for the beautification of the centre.

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