Al Tayer Explores With American Delegation Coop, Investment Potentials In RTA Projects

Roads and Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji: H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), has recently received H.E. Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in the presence of H.E. Justin Siberell the United States Consul General in Dubai and the accompanying delegation comprising 15 representatives of American firms operating in the field of transportation and logistical services.

The meeting explored the potentials of cooperation and exchange of expertise between the RTA and the American firms operating in the rail, transport and roads industries, and touched on roads and mass transit projects intended to be undertaken by the RTA in the foreseeable future, particularly as more specialized American companies are increasingly engaged in the construction of roads and public transport projects currently offered by the RTA.

At the outset of the gathering, Al Tayer praised the historic links between the UAE and the USA; which have contributed to augmenting the volume of bilateral trade, the joint ventures made in various fields and the growing numbers of tourists exchanged between the two friendly countries, adding that he would be looking forward to see more American firms practicing business, particularly those specialized in roads sector.

Al Tayer screened the investment opportunities opened for the private sector in carrying out road projects and transport systems intended to be constructed by the RTA until 2020; which span hundreds of kilometers of main roads, crossings over the Dubai Creek, ring roads circulating the existing & prospective development & activity hubs, rail projects including metro & tram, public buses, and marine transit modes to the tune of billion of dirhams. "Such projects open up new windows for companies to bid for RTA tenders, especially as RTA is mulling the introduction of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model with a view to providing attractive business prospects in a number of projects that prompt the private sector to take the initiative in undertaking and bearing the costs of constructing such projects against benefiting from their revenues during the validity of the contract.

"RTA has solid practices in cooperating and partnering with the private sector in constructing various infrastructure projects in roads sector (roads, bridges, tunnels, crossings), and different transport systems. The volume of road projects and transportation systems undertaken by the private sector in the past six years has exceeded 50 billion dirham. For example, the paved road network in Dubai increased from 9197 km in 2003 to more than 11,208 km in 2010, and the number of lanes over the Dubai Creek grew up exponentially from 19 lanes when RTA was founded in November 2005 to 48 lanes in 2008. All these projects were carried out by private sector firms."

"The projects envisaged in RTA’s strategic plan will open up broader prospects for cooperation with the private sector, including the construction of new roads, multi-layer interchanges, and ring roads around commercial & populous areas. They also include a comprehensive program for developing mass transit modes covering upgrading of metro & tram systems to the highest global standards, and marine transport networks such as abras, water bus, water taxis, and Ferry Dubai besides improving and constructing bus stations, footbridges, subways, and multi-level vehicles parking lots," added Al Tayer.

At the end of the meeting, H.E. Francisco Sanchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, was impressed by the projects undertaken by the RTA, particularly in the field of mass transportation such as the Dubai Metro, Al Safouh Tram and other public transportation modes. He also praised the accelerated tempo of project implementation by the RTA enabling project completion in a record time.

"The U.S. is seeking to strengthen bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates and pushing up trade volumes to higher levels. This meeting is a good opportunity to exchange expertise between the American businesses and the RTA in constructing and managing infrastructure projects in the roads and mass transit sector," he concluded.
 

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Nov 16, 2011

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