Source: www.rta.ae
H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), received a delegation from China Railway Co. headed by H.E. Kuwang Young, Chairman of the Co, who was accompanied by several senior officials of the Co.
A meeting was held during which the two parties discussed possible cooperation and investment opportunities in the projects the company is intending to undertake in the field of railway transport, and transport technological systems.
At the start of the meeting Al Tayer praised the massive scope of investments made by the Chinese Government to upgrade the railway network system. He also hailed the Chinese Government-owned China Railway Co.; which is considered one of the biggest rail construction companies in China and is currently engaged in carrying several rail projects in different countries, including the Super-High-Speed Train which travels at speed in excess of 300 km per hour.
Al Tayer said the he would be looking forward to see more Chinese companies involved; particularly those specialized in rail industry, adding that such visits would be good opportunities for the two parties to exchange expertise, promote cooperation in various fields, and benefit from the practices of countries which had extensive experience in rail manufacturing & operation industries.
Speaking on the investment opportunities open to the private sector in the projects intended to be carried out by the RTA in future, Al Tayer said: “RTA currently ponders implementation of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as a business model with a view to creating attractive economic elements in the projects to be undertaken to prompt the private sector take the initiative of fostering & funding these projects against benefiting from their revenues over the contracted period”.
Al Tayer gave the Chinese delegation a brief account of Dubai Metro Project covering both the Red and Green Lines; which is considered the longest driverless metro project undertaken as a single project in the world. The Red Line extends 52 km and includes 29 stations (4 underground stations and 25 elevated stations two of which are at Dubai International Airport) with an underground track stretching 5 km. The Green Line extends 22 km and links 18 stations, 6 of which are underground, and has an underground track stretching 10 km”.
For his part, the Chairman of China Railway Co. H.E. Kuwang Young praised the pioneering development model of Dubai Emirate in various fields and said: “Dubai has made giant strides down the track of development and become an example to be emulated and a destination to several executives seeking to benefit from its experiment in carrying out mega projects and applying modern technology in all fields”.
He added that he was impressed by the mass transit projects carried out by the RTA, such as Dubai Metro and public transportation, and cited RTA ability to complete such mammoth projects in a record time.
