The Minister of Transport, Jabara Al-Suraiseri, inaugurated on Sunday the 17th International Road Federation (IRF) World Meeting and Exhibition in the presence of Abdullah Al-Muqbil, chairman of the IRF and mayor of Riyadh.

While inaugurating the event, Al-Suraiseri said, “Transportation is the backbone of economic development in any nation. The transport industry in the Kingdom is facing many challenges due to the fast growing demand as well as skyrocketing costs of materials.”

He said, “The length of the road network in Saudi Arabia exceeds 60,300 km and the total length of roads under construction throughout the Kingdom is estimated at over 22,250 km at a total cost of SR 48 billion.”

The five-day premier event for transportation professionals is set to provide a unique forum for sharing the latest industry technologies, solutions and best practices with the participation of over 1000 road local and international experts.

The IRF aims to encourage the development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads and road networks worldwide.

It promotes the social and economic benefits that flow from well planned and environmentally sound road transport networks. The IRF also focuses on making the transportation industry stronger, more informed and increasingly motivated.

The key subjects in the executive sessions of the IRF meeting are transport policy and economics, road safety, pavements and materials, sustainable transport, integrated mobility and ITS, transport security, disaster mitigation and recovery, among other topics.

The key speakers at the exhibition included Inger Andersen, vice-president of the World Bank in the MENA Region; Oscar De Buen Richkarday, president of the World Road Association (PIARC); Pedro Castro Fernández, minister at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in Costa Rica, among other experts.

The IRF is also offering a daily forum for business-to-business, business-to-government, government-to-government, or academic and research to interact and connect with each other.

Earlier, Abdullah Al-Muqbil, IRF chairman and mayor of Riyadh, described Riyadh as a “modern, vibrant city with a welcoming population and a long tradition o f extending warm hospitality to all visitors.”

The speakers, exhibitors and delegates from over 80 countries enrich the proceedings and offer a unique opportunity for Saudi and Gulf Region professionals to take stock of road innovations.

A large number of decision makers, global experts and professionals from the public and private sectors participated in the event for the development of the technologies and solutions for roads and related infrastructure needed globally and within the Kingdom.