|
MIDDLE EAST RAILWAY PROJECT |
|
|
|
PROPOSED MIDDLE EAST RAILWAY PROJECT TO BE DISCUSSED IN DUBAI
DUBAI, Sept 3 Asia Pulse - A proposed railway network connecting the GCC countries, including Bahrain, will be discussed at a major conference in Dubai next month.
Transport experts from across the region are expected to attend the event, which will examine the latest developments in urban and inter-urban rail networks.
The fourth Middle East Rail Projects Conference will take place at the Park Hyatt in Dubai on October 30 and 31.
The two-day event will bring together regional and international leaders to share the latest industry trends and provide fresh intelligence on integrating urban and inter-urban rail networks.
Among the keynote speakers will be the director-general of the Arab Union of Railways Mourhaf Sabhouni, GCC General Secretariat transport director Sultan Al Ghanim and Dubai Roads and Transport Authority director of planning Abdulredha Abu Al Hassan.
Companies from Bahrain are expected to attend and international law firm Norton Rose has already signed up.
GCC assistant secretary-general for economic affairs Mohammed bin Ubeid Al Mazroie said early this month that a project to build a grand railway network connecting all countries in the Gulf region was being studied.
He said the project aimed to achieve co-ordination, interconnection and integration among GCC states in all fields.
The conference will feature an update report on the GCC railway network, assess the opportunities arising from the proposal and what needs to be done next as well as information on all other projects in the region.
Experts say the estimated value of rail projects in the Middle East and North Africa is more than $30 billion (BD11.3 billion), as increasing road-traffic congestion has encouraged governments to look at other forms of transportation.
"Finding a reliable source of finance has always been the main challenge in the development of rail projects, not just to cover the capital construction cost but also for the day-to-day running of the systems," said Middle East Economic Digest events chairman Edmund O'Sullivan.
International legal firm Herbert Smith will sponsor the conference.
Plans for a railway connecting Bahrain and the GCC were first mooted in June 2004 when Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa approved the proposal at a cabinet meeting. |
