RATP Dev, the international subsidiary of French state-owned public transport operator RATP Group, and Zain Capital, part of the Lakhraim Business Group, have established a new joint venture in the UAE to provide advanced public transportation solutions.

RATP Dev Transportation will be based in Abu Dhabi. In June 2015, RATP Dev signed a partnership with Lakhraim Business Group to set up a joint venture targeting the leading transport projects in the UAE.

RATP Group is acknowledged as a world leader in passenger transport, operating the Paris Metro, tram and bus system, and is well positioned to provide the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region with new transport systems that meet the highest international standards.

RATP Dev is currently working on large-scale projects to implement, operate and maintain public transportation systems across the region, from the first bus network in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to the first tramway system in Doha, Qatar.

RATP Dev operates four transport systems in Algeria with a further four new tramway operations in Algeria scheduled to begin operating in the next two years. RATP Dev also operates the Casa Tram system in Casablanca, Morocco.

François-Xavier Perin, chief executive, RAPT Dev; Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, founder and chairman of Zain Capital and Lakhraim Business Group; and Olivier Badard, director of the Middle East and Asia Business Unit, attended the signing.

Perin said: “The UAE is a key public transportation market within the Mena region and has a unique vision of becoming a smart city with all the mobility and connectivity requirements this entails, as well as practical infrastructure needed to serve the growing population, increasing numbers of visitors, and major events such as World Expo 2020. Through this new company, we believe RATP Dev will be in a stronger position to support and contribute to the UAE public transportation sector through our considerable expertise and resources.”

Badard, director of the Middle East and Asia Business Unit, RATP Dev, added: “Zain Capital is the perfect partner to work with RATP Dev to address the attractive UAE market opportunity for public transportation projects, with its extensive range of contacts and finance and investment expertise. The UAE offers a unique and interesting mix of greenfield sites and established projects, in which we are able to use our expertise to address legacy systems and integrate these with new infrastructure.”  

The region has allocated over $250 billion to various railway projects over the next decade, which will result in 67,000 km of railway tracks. Current investment in ongoing rail projects reached over $180 billion in early 2013 and the most recent estimations suggest the region has approximately 34,000 km of completed tracks. The top eight projects have a combined budget of more than $65 billion.

RATP Dev currently has over 6,000 employees working in the Asia-Middle East region and expects to grow its workforce to over 10,000 within the next two years.  – TradeArabia News Service