Saudi Arabia is expected to invest $45 billion for establishment of its mammoth 7000 km railway network which will include major projects such as the Saudi landbridge, Haramain High Speed Rail and the GCC Rail, said experts ahead of an railway conference.  

To be held in Riyadh from May 6 -7, the 4th annual Middle East Rail Opportunities is being organised by Fleming Gulf, a provider of business intelligence through industry specific conferences, webinars and skills enhancement training courses.

The two-day summit aims at discussing the challenges that are being faced while in the design stage which will enable effective planning of the project in the long run. It will focus on the current status of the projects and hear about the latest technologies in railway systems from the experts.

The summit will also throw light on the financing models for the railways, the latest technology that is being deployed for the railways and many such important aspects. The next decade will see a major transformation in the transport industry across the GCC Region.

Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing a major metamorphosis with several major rail projects being built on a 7000km network including Saudi landbridge, Haramain High Speed Rail, GCC Rail, Riyadh Light Railway and Makkah Metro, the experts said.

The summit will also through light on other GCC countries Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and next generation railway technology. Successful construction of railways across the other Middle Eastern countries and first hand experience will also be shared and reviewed at the summit.

Spanning over two days, this summit will include intense discussions on project updates and recommendations on the best strategies moving forward.

This year the summit will also focus on 'Existing challenges and upcoming opportunities for private sector in Middle East rail sector, perspective of steel and cement companies on freight rail network, exploring key financing strategies for better ROI on rail projects.

Attendees will get an opportunity to interact with Loay Ghazaleh who is the PPP theme leader and advisor to the Undersecretary of Works at Ministry of Works from Bahrain. He will address the attendees on 'Road map for railways for the next decade.'

 Amongst other the summit's panel of international speakers also include Howard Smith the Chief Operating Officer from London Rail. He will enlighten the delegates on 'The role of light rail in urban development' and other related topics.-TradeArabia News Service