“The conference will gather some of the most important personalities in the transport industry to discuss the latest challenges and solutions to Saudi Arabia’s growing transport requirements,” said Jamie Dowswell, a conference director of International Quality & Productivity Center (IPQC), the co-organizer of the event.
“The impressive line-up of speakers and participants from the public and private sectors reflects the significance of the conference in helping drive the Kingdom’s transport development initiatives.”
The diverse range of services and solutions to be showcased during the event will cover areas related to IT, parking systems, speed cameras, road construction and improvement, among others.
He noted that the local transport sector is estimated to be growing by six to 10 percent annually, driven by the aggressive construction of new roads, railways and integrated community development projects across the country.
The development of transport infrastructure for pilgrims has also been growing at an accelerated pace, expanding by 10 to 15 percent annually as Saudi Arabia continues to accommodate a growing number of religious tourists each year.
For 2010 alone, a total of 6,400 km of new roads have been included in Saudi Arabia’s transport budget while other ongoing high-profile projects in the Kingdom include the Riyadh Light Railway, which costs $3 billion, and public transport projects worth $5.6 billion under the Jeddah Strategic Development Plan, and the 440-km Haramain High Speed Rail between Makkah and Madinah, passing through Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh.
