Source: www.4hoteliers.com
The opening of Metro’s Green Line has given a second opportunity for local and international firms to have their names attached to the world’s largest driverless rail system.
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) this week announced the opening of the second phase of the naming programme, inviting interested parties to bid for the naming rights of nearly two dozen stations of both Red and Green Lines.
Of the 27 stations in the entire rail network, 21 on both the lines are already named. While some of the remaining stations, which are named after historic landmarks, won’t be available for branding.
The RTA earned Dh2 billion in the first phase of corporate branding and expects to generate more from the second phase.
“Some companies have already approached us for the naming rights of certain stations and we are currently negotiating with them, we will announce the names once the deals are sealed,” said Adnan Al Hammadi, CEO of the RTA’s Rail Agency, during a press conference held to announce the second phase.
Though no fixed time frame has been announced for phase II, which means stations would be named as and when a company approaches the RTA with a proposal and the deal is sealed, but a company is allotted the naming right only for ten years irrespective of the value and details of the deal.
As many as three metro stations on the Green Line are already branded, including the Etisalat station, Palm Deira station and Dubai Airport Freezone station, while 18 on the Red Line are already named after corporate firms.
Talking about the ridership on the Green Line, Al Hammadi said the initial response to the route is better than it was for the Red Line.
