The 2011 Saudi Urban Transport Conference, which will provide a B2B platform while addressing key issues affecting Saudi Arabia’s rapidly developing transportation, opened yesterday (February 20) in Riyadh.

Dr Habib Zein Al Abideen, Deputy Minister of the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs formally opened the three-day conference running at the Riyadh Marriott Hotel.

Co-organized by the Ministry in collaboration with International Quality & Productivity Centre (IQPC), the conference will also discuss best practices and technologies, and address environmental issues concerned with Saudi Arabia’s transportation sector.

Al Abideen stressed on the importance of the development of a public transport network to face the traffic resulting from the rapid population growth. He also discussed the importance of the metro project in developing the transportation sector, especially when used on special bridge or tunnel tracks.

Al Abideen added that building a strong transportation network requires around ten years to be fulfilled, were governmental support and cooperation between private and public sectors play a major role in its success.

“The Saudi Urban Transport Conference 2011 is an excellent opportunity for stakeholders to formulate new strategies based on the views of our invited experts and the experiences of our international delegates that fit in with the Saudi Arabia’s long-term transportation goals,” added Jamie Dowswell, conference director, IQPC.

“We appreciate how the Saudi Government has taken the lead in the Conference in discussing what is needed to further enhance domestic urban transport and how developers, manufacturers, service providers and authorities can work together to meet them,” he added.

The conference will feature a wide range of services and solutions spanning intelligent traffic control, parking systems, speed cameras, road construction and improvement, road barriers and safety features, pavement laying, light rail procurement, rolling stock, and electrification.

Other areas to be highlighted are telecommunications, station build, ticketing systems, bus rapid transit and smart card technologies, electronic signage, and transportation consulting. – TradeArabia News Service