Source: www.rta.ae
H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), has recently received H.E. David Wooton, Mayor of the Financial District in London, along with H.E. Alan Yarrow, the Sheriff of the City of London.
During the meeting, which was attended by H.E. Guy Warrington, the Consul-General of the British Embassy in Dubai, along with a number of RTA’s executives and a bunch of representatives of British companies specialized in rail construction and transportation systems, the parties discussed the prospects of enhancing cooperation and sharing expertise between the RTA and its counterpart in the UK, together with the British companies operating in roads & transport sector. The two sides also reviewed the future road and infrastructure projects in Dubai.
At the start of the meeting, Al Tayer welcomed the British official, and praised the of partnership and cooperative relations between the RTA and British companies operating in roads and transportation, noting that there are nearly 38 British companies undertaking several RTA’s projects in various institutions and sectors. The two sides also touched on the partnership and cooperative relations with many British companies and institutions, where in March 2008, the RTA signed a contract with Serco, under which the company was tasked with the operation and maintenance of the Dubai Metro, both the Red and Green Lines.
Also in November 2006, the RTA signed an agreement with the “Lloyd’s Register” company, specialized in safety, security and occupational health systems as well as the inspection of health and industrial facilities. In September 2009, the RTA inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of Rail Regulation in the United Kingdom, the first of its kind in the Middle East between two governmental entities concerned with transportation sector. In 2010 the RTA signed an agreement with the Institution of Civil Engineers, which is one of the oldest professional institutions in the United Kingdom, to train a number of Emirati new-graduate engineers, in order to groom them for the full membership of the Institute. In October last year, the RTA signed up a cooperation agreement with the Transport for London (TfL) to support and strengthen cooperation and exchange of information related to transport, and offer advice on the designing of rail stations, buses and taxis, taking into consideration the requirements and needs of people with special needs in mass transport means and services, in addition to training engineers in the fields of transportation, and cooperation in the preparation of studies to assess the level of services rendered to the public.
H.E. the Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the RTA briefed the British delegation on RTA’s experience in constructing Dubai Metro project, and the migration towards the use of mass transit modes, as well as projects that the RTA intends to construct in future.
Al Tayer, said the RTA is mulling engaging the private sector in the construction of some projects to be carried out, stressing that there are promising opportunities for the private sector to undertake some projects in the roads & transport sector as well as communication systems.
For his part, H.E. David Wooton, the Mayor of the Financial District in London, was pleased with the participation of the British institutions and companies in the constructing RTA’s projects, expressing his hope boosting the cooperation and exchange of expertise & practices in the benefit of both sides.
