IRF World Meeting: Strong business opportunities in a growing region

The 17th 2462 IRF World Meeting & Exhibition offers a chance for the industry to see what is going on in the field of infrastructure, not only in Riyadh but also in the whole of Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region. According to IRF chairman and mayor of Riyadh Eng Abdullah A Al-Mogbel, “Ongoing infrastructure programs concern not only roads and railways, but a whole swath of civil engineering projects — I am convinced many more companies that are not currently operating in the Kingdom should take this opportunity to evaluate their business potential in Saudi Arabia.”

Driven by government spending and high oil prices The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is in the middle of a massive overhaul of its infrastructure worth US$875 billion, including an estimated $100 billion earmarked over the coming decade to multimodal transportation systems that include new and upgraded highways and roads, bridges, tunnels, high speed rail, traffic systems and public transport.

Some of the best foreign firms are tapping into these markets, helping the Kingdom transition its infrastructure and address essential mobility challenges, including bottlenecks and the prevalence of road traffic injuries.
Some of these landmark projects include the second phase of the Jeddah-Makah Expressway, a highway linking Oman with Saudi Arabia scheduled to open in 2013, the North-South Railway line, currently the largest railway construction in the world, and the ATVAM kingdom-wide ITS project (see box below).

The IRF World Meeting & Exhibition offers industry professionals several key opportunities to assess investment prospects throughout the Kingdom and network with Saudi officials and business partners.
Several sessions presenting the Kingdom’s transport projects in greater detail, an Innovation Forum open to World Meeting exhibitors and partners wishing to present innovative technologies, and daily pre-set matchmaking sessions are just some of the instruments ensuring all delegates make the most of their presence.

“With unprecedented investments across all modes of transport, the IRF World Meeting could not come at a better time for the global community transport professionals,” according to IRF president and CEO Pat Sankey. “In response, we are putting together the most business-friendly World Meeting yet.”

Investment Updates: Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Arabian 2556 Ministry of Transport is building an 85km expressway connecting Makah to the International Airport in Jeddah. The first phase of the project, costing US$ 40 million, was completed in early June 2013, while the second phase, worth $80 million, is to start as soon as a contractor is selected.

The 750km Oman-Saudi direct road link will reduce the travel distance between Saudi Arabia and Oman by around 1,200km. Currently, the only road linking the two Arab countries travels through the UAE. Although work on the road in KSA began in 2007 and has been 89% complete since December 2010, the remaining work to be done lies solely in Saudi Arabia.

In 2005, the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced the introduction of the Advanced Traffic Vehicle and Monitoring (ATVAM) project. In September 2012 the ATVAM project required an estimated investment of over US$1.5bn over a 6-year period.

In December 2011, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Transport published the ITS Deployment and Integration Plan for Saudi Arabia. This document identifies 61 ITS projects throughout the Kingdom, five of which are based in Riyadh.