Dubai Water Canal officially opens. [PHOTOS +VIDEO]

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai inaugurated the Dubai Water Canal on Wednesday.

Shaikh Mohammad marked the opening by pressing on an electronic panel, flashing an image of Burj Khalifa on massive screens arranged on the canal banks, and sending laser beams racing through and along its bridges.

Shaikh Mohammad, accompanied by Crown Prince of Dubai Shaikh Hamdan and Deputy Ruler of Dubai Shaikh Maktoum, then took a boat ride from Jumeirah Bay Island towards the Dubai Water Canal, followed by a flotilla of ferries and abras boarded by officials and engineers who worked on the Dh2.7-billion ($730 million) project. As the grand opening ceremony of the Dubai Canal got underway on Wednesday night, Gulf News took a closer look at the waterfall, one of the main attractions of the Dh2 billion project.

Once the latest landmark becomes fully operational, the public will see water cascading regularly from both sides of the Shaikh Zayed bridge that stretches over the waterway.

Powered by 80 water pumps, the centrepiece of the canal is equipped with sensors so that it automatically stops when boats sail through.

Inside the ferry boat

On the ferry along the Dubai Water Canal.

With inputs from  Shafaat Shahbandari, Staff Reporter/Gulfnews