Leading international architecture company RMJM which has a Dubai office, has launched a Global Transportation Architecture Studio to capitalise on GCC public investment in transportation.

The studio will aim to expand work designing airports, railway stations, ferry piers, terminals and transport hubs around the world.

A team of experts in the company’s Dubai office will now work together with other specialists in the RMJM network to bid for large-scale projects.

Over the last year the GCC has seen an enormous rise in investment into transportation infrastructure. In the next few months Dubai is set to unveil the first lines in the world's longest fully automated rail system.

Abu Dhabi similarly unveiled plans in August last year for the creation of an integrated mass transit system to connect its upcoming communities. Outside of the UAE, 2008 saw Oman and Kuwait announcing future plans for their first-ever rail infrastructure.

Plans for a further network connecting all 6 GCC countries, is also scheduled for the upcoming years. Catering for passenger and freight traffic, the first of the two lines would cover approximately 1,970km, starting in Kuwait and stretching through Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and down to Oman.  The second would be a 1,984km line stretching between Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman.

The launch of the RMJM transportation studio, is not only designed to meet the growing demands of the GCC, but also follows the company’s recently announced intention to streamline the business in the challenging economic climate by focusing on areas which are subject to massive government investment.

Although RMJM already has considerable experience in the transport sector - including the recent Dubai Metro Purple Line and Airport Express railway, the Circle Line in Singapore, and numerous new stations and refurbishments in Hong Kong, Landbridge Transportation Hub (Abu Dhabi), Taoyuan Airport Station (Taiwan) and Kolkata Airport (India) - it has not previously exploited opportunities on a global-scale, said a company statement.

“The strength of RMJM’s transport group lies in our vast portfolio of international transportation projects and by our presence in all major regions,” stated Bertil de Kleynen, managing principal of RMJM’s new Global Transportation Architecture Studio.-TradeArabia News Service