By Nashwan Atta’ee  www.zawya.com
The Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport (DAST), one of the key strategic initiatives rolled out by the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), has proved successful from inception three years ago in attracting a host of government and official as well as semi-official departments and private businesses in Dubai Emirate in order to contribute to the concepts, initiatives, programs and suggestions in the field of sustainable transport and all environmental, social and service aspects among others relating to this vital initiative.
Commenting on the issue, Dr. Khalid Mohammed Al Zahid, Chairperson of the Higher Committee of DAST, said: “The key feature of the 4th DAST edition 2011 is the expansion of its reach to cover the whole UAE; a step which will be marked with a shift in the scope of the Award, and raise the bar on the competitiveness between the public, semi-public entities as well as private businesses operating in the UAE. The move will certainly expand the scope and benefits of the Award to cover the entire transportation sector of the UAE instead of being restricted to the Dubai Emirate alone.”
“The decision to expand the scope of the Award to span all Emirates of the country underscores the successes made by the Award in the past three editions in Dubai Emirate; and enhances its profile as a true testament to RTA’s commitment to diffuse the culture of sustainable transport across the UAE, and offer an extended platform for the largest possible number of organizations and firms operating in the UAE to contribute to establishing a solid base for the concept and practices of sustainable transport along with all associated benefits accruing to the environment and public health alike,” continued Al Zahid.
“RTA is seeking to upgrade the working mechanism of DAST to keep pace with the massive developments in RTA projects & initiatives. The Award has seen wide expansion and development in all respects such that excellence has become synonymous of the past three editions. The number of participants soared remarkably in each edition and additional number of public, semi-public and private entities contributed to the sustainable transport in Dubai and shaping the future of the Emirate working hand-in-hand with RTA efforts in this drive,” he added.
Dr. Al Zahid anticipated the 4th edition of DAST 2011 to witness even more successes, thanks to the unlimited support provided by the Dubai Government to bolster the strenuous efforts and relentless endeavours made by the RTA in this regard.
