By Mary Sophia gulfbusiness.com
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority is open to financing deals from public private partnerships for the Route 2020 project, a senior official has said.
Speaking at the MENA Rail and Metro Summit, RTA’s chief engineer of Rail Agency Shahrin Bin Abdol Salam said: “Financing by PPP is an option we gave consultants. If they come up with an option, we are interested in looking at them.
“If the consortiums want to put it in their bid, then they can do so. It is not mandatory but if they want to put it then we will look at all of these.”
The RTA had previously said that it will seek private financing for 30 per cent of its upcoming projects.
Unlike the other emirates within the United Arab Emirates, Dubai recently introduced a law which allows the government to seek financing through private-public partnerships. Such a clause widens the scope of funding options for infrastructure projects – traditionally funded entirely by the government.
Financing through PPP could also be specifically beneficial considering the current strain on government coffers due to the ongoing oil price volatility. More info
