Dubai will have a 93-km “climate-controlled” cycle highway called The Loop as part of aims to make cycling and walking to work possible for 80% of residents’ by 2040.

The project was unveiled by Dubai-based sustainable developer URB, which said the cycle and walking route will have a “climate controlled all-year environment” to make walking and cycling the primary mode of transport for Dubai’s residents, in line with the emirate’s 20-minute city initiative.

The facility, which is at the research and development stage, will also feature spaces for leisure and community services and will provide “an enjoyable mode of sustainable transport, no matter what the weather conditions”, URB said.

URB is headed up by Baharash Bagherian, the former design director of Diamond Developers, which is behind Sharjah Sustainable City and Dubai’s The Sustainable City.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced the awarding of two contracts for cycle paths in Al Khawaneej and Mushrif in November last year, part of a 278-km cycling track masterplan.