UAE – The Abu Dhabi Roadex-Railex exhibition began yesterday, giving transport infrastructure specialists a chance to focus on the region with ‘the highest traffic density and fatality figures’ in the world.
International transport executives have converged on the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) this week for the biennial Roadex-Railex event, one of the largest exhibitions for the road, rail and public transport sectors in the Middle East.
The three-day show focuses on four key aspects of transport infrastructure, Road, Rail, Public Transport and Parking. This year’s event has drawn around 130 exhibitors from 23 countries. It runs in parallel with the International Road Federation’s 2nd Middle East regional congress, and the Leaders in Rail conference.
The event is held in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport and the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs, and supported by Abu Dhabi Police and road traffic accident management company, Saaed.
Regional governments traditionally spend the majority of their transport infrastructure budget on major road projects. However, transportation policies across the region have now changed, with rail projects and public transportation now coming to the fore alongside tourism development.
“Countries throughout the Middle East have the highest traffic density and fatality figures anywhere in the world. Now in a bid to reduce congestion, cut carbon emissions, improve safety and travelling times as well as eliminate reliance on air transport, regional governments are embarking on a massive investment programme to construct a network of rail systems,” said Roadex-Railex exhibition director, Richard Pavitt.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries recently approved the construction of a GCC-wide rail network estimated to cost in the region of US$60bn. The network will be initially made up of 2,177km of high-speed electrified line carrying trains at speeds of 350 km/hour.
More than $109bn will be spent on regional rail projects over the next 10 years.
