A project generating more trips than the prescribed maximum makes its developer a "beneficiary" — and obliges them to pay for the traffic solutions around the site. Law No. 6 of 2006 bars the issuance of a building permit for such a project WITHOUT the Roads and Transport Authority's approval of the traffic impact study, and the bar is addressed to property developers who hold delegated permit-issuing powers too. The study is prepared by an accredited consultant, the size of the contribution is set by the Chairman of the Board, and the works run either against a bank guarantee or by the beneficiary under the authority's supervision.
Verified against official sources on 2026-09-16: the text of Law No. 6 of 2006 comes from the Dubai Legislation Portal (dlp.dubai.gov.ae). The portal notes that the English version is a translation and that the Arabic text prevails in case of conflict. This is not legal advice: a specific project is judged on its own documents.
Working through the roads law 4/2021 we noted honestly that we had not read Law No. 6 of 2006 from its preamble. Now we have.
The document is Law No. (6) of 2006 Concerning Contribution of Beneficiaries to the Cost of Roads and Public Transport Contracts, issued on 8 March 2006; it is published in the Official Gazette and comes into force on the day of publication (Article 17).
Who is a "beneficiary"
"Beneficiary: A natural or legal person, or a Government or private entity, including free zones, which implements in the Emirate a project that generates a number of trips in excess of the maximum number prescribed by the regulations and technical standards and manuals adopted by the RTA." — Law No. (6) of 2006, Article 2
The status depends not on the type of building but on the traffic load it creates at peak hours on nearby roads and junctions and on its own access roads and exits.
Two gates that come before construction
Article 4: before commencing works on site, the beneficiary must obtain the authority's approval of the rights of way of road networks and transport systems within the project boundaries and on its access roads and exits. What a right of way is: Law 4/2021 and bylaw 273/2025.
Article 5 is harder, and it addresses not the developer but whoever issues the paper:
"…concerned entities in the Emirate and free zone authorities must not issue construction permits to any project that requires a Traffic Impact Study without the approval of such Traffic Impact Study by the RTA. For the purposes of this Article, concerned entities will include real property developers authorised to issue construction permits." — Law No. (6) of 2006, Article 5
The last sentence is worth noticing: the law expressly recognises that permits may be issued not only by government bodies but by developers holding delegated authority — and extends the prohibition to them.
What the beneficiary must submit
Article 6: all project data needed to update the traffic model of the site (the beneficiary bears the cost of using and updating the model), and the traffic impact study itself, which must follow the 1999 studies manual, rest on the 1999 trip generation and parking rates manual, use the authority's traffic model, be prepared by an accredited consultant and be submitted during the planning phase. The study revision fee is also borne by the beneficiary.
Article 7 lets the authority determine the maximum traffic impact the project may create; the owner must modify the project accordingly.
Who pays for the traffic solutions
Article 8: the beneficiary bears — solely or jointly with the authority — the cost of designing, constructing and maintaining the components of the traffic solutions required for the project; the size of the contribution is determined by the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Article 9 offers two routes: the authority implements the solutions itself after the beneficiary provides a bank guarantee equal to the value of the required works, or authorises the beneficiary to implement them under the authority's supervision through an accredited contractor. All costs fall on the beneficiary.
Article 10 adds: where the authority, on an official request, supervises the consultants, the designs or the implementation, the beneficiary pays all costs — directly to the authority or to parties it appoints — including supervision fees.
Fees and annexes: what is in the law and what is not
Article 12 names three fees, and the distinction matters:
- a traffic model fee — per Schedule (1) to the law itself;
- a traffic impact study revision fee — "as approved by the Chairman of the Board of Directors";
- a study, design and implementation supervision fee — likewise approved by the Chairman.
So two of the three are absent from the law's text. Schedule (1) is banded by the number of trips generated at peak hours:
| Trips at peak hours | Fee for obtaining and using the traffic model — as printed in Schedule (1) of the 2006 law |
|---|---|
| fewer than 500 | AED 10,000 |
| 501 to 3,000 | AED 20,000 |
| 3,001 to 5,000 | AED 30,000 |
| 5,001 to 10,000 | AED 50,000 |
| 10,001 to 20,000 | AED 100,000 |
| more than 20,000 | AED 150,000 |
⚠️ This is the 2006 scale as printed, not a tariff whose currency we have verified. We have not checked for later amendments, and Article 11(2) expressly allows the Chairman of the Board to amend the annexed technical manuals. Current amounts should be checked with the authority.
Schedule (2): eight violations and their measures
Article 13 refers to Schedule (2), which ties a measure to each violation. The heaviest is the fifth:
- a building permit obtained before the authority's approval of the traffic impact study: the permit is suspended, the beneficiary is ordered to conduct the study and implement its outcomes, and the professional licence of the consultant who designed the project is suspended or revoked. Both the beneficiary and the consultant are held responsible.
The others, as set out in the annex: a study not built on the approved traffic model — redo it; non-compliance with the technical manuals, or a study by a non-accredited consultant — redo and resubmit; failure to pay fees — pay plus a delay fine of 10% per month; inaccurate information understating the number of trips — pay by the actual number, amend the study and the solutions, and pay AED 5,000 for every 100 undeclared trips, no less than AED 5,000 and no more than AED 150,000; failure to pay the costs due — confiscation of the bank guarantee, a 5% per month delay fine, and suspension of any other licences for the beneficiary's projects until the breach is remedied; failure to implement the solutions on time — a 5% per month delay fine on their cost plus implementation; departure from approved designs — bring them into line and pay 10% of the cost of the modifications.
⚠️ The same caveats as for Schedule (1): this is the 2006 text, and we have not verified the currency of the amounts and percentages.
What we do NOT claim here
- That the fee scale and the annexed measures apply today as printed. We reproduce them as the text of the 2006 law with the source named, and do not confirm their currency; amendments are possible, and Article 11(2) expressly allows them for the manuals.
- The amounts of the other two fees. Article 12 leaves the study revision fee and the supervision fee to the Chairman's approval; they are not in the law.
- The contents of the 1999 manuals. They decide whether a study is needed at all, at what level, and with which trip generation and parking rates. We have not seen their text and quote no thresholds.
- The threshold at which a project becomes a "beneficiary". It follows from the authority's regulations and manuals, not from the law itself.
- The calendar date of entry into force. The law applies from the day of publication; we have not verified that date. The date of issuance is 8 March 2006.
Sources
- Law No. (6) of 2006 Concerning Contribution of Beneficiaries to the Cost of Roads and Public Transport Contracts — Dubai Legislation Portal: issuance by the Ruler of Dubai on 8 March 2006 and entry into force on the day of publication (Article 17); definitions of the beneficiary including free zones, generated trips, the traffic model, traffic solutions, the traffic impact study and peak hours (Article 2); the authority's exclusive powers over technical requirements and the reference to the 1999 traffic impact studies manual (Article 3); the duty to obtain approval of rights of way before commencing works on site (Article 4); the prohibition on concerned entities, free zone authorities and developers authorised to issue permits from issuing a building permit without the authority's approval of the study (Article 5); the duty to provide data, bear the cost of using and updating the traffic model, and submit a study by an accredited consultant during the planning phase (Article 6); the authority's power to set the maximum traffic impact of the project (Article 7); the beneficiary bearing the cost of traffic solutions and the Chairman of the Board determining the contribution (Article 8); a bank guarantee equal to the value of the works or self-implementation through an accredited contractor under the authority's supervision (Article 9); payment of costs and supervision fees (Article 10); adoption of the two 1999 technical manuals and the Chairman's power to amend them (Article 11); three fees, of which only the traffic model fee appears in Schedule (1) while the other two are left to the Chairman's approval (Article 12); the reference to Schedule (2) with measures and penalties imposed by resolution of the Executive Director (Article 13); fees and fines payable to the authority (Article 14); Schedule (1) with the traffic model fee across six trip bands; Schedule (2) with eight violations, including suspension of the building permit and suspension or revocation of the consultant's professional licence where a permit is obtained before the study is approved.
