Transport

Qatar: Transport takeoff

Qatar's multibillion-dollar program of expanding the country's transport infrastructure is gathering pace with a firm opening date set for the Doha's new airport, tenders called for the first stage of a rail link and plans to revamp the public bus service all announced in recent weeks. Quite apart from the conventional reasons for building new transport infrastructure, such as meeting the needs of a rapidly expanding economy and boosting tourism, Qatar has other, more athletic goals in its sights. The country is looking to improve its overall transport grid as part of its campaign to be granted the rights to host the Olympic Games. Having not been successful in bidding for the 2016 games, Qatar has put itself into the running for the Olympiad of 2020. It has also kicked off a campaign to stage the 2022 World Cup, the second-largest event on the global sporting calendar. While the requirement of providing the necessary stadiums and facilities to host the games are of paramount importance when both the International Olympic Committee and FIFA make their decisions, the ability to be able to move fans, officials and competitors in and out of the host country and then between hotels and venues is also crucial. [source: OBG]

Monorail to make Hajj easier next year

The operation of a monorail system during the Hajj next year would facilitate the transport of millions of pilgrims between the holy sites of Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. Habeeb Zain Al-Abidine, deputy minister of municipal and rural affairs, said the monorails would transport 500,000 pilgrims between the holy sites within six to eight hours. "This will help withdraw at least 30,000 small and large buses from the Hajj service," said Zain Al-Abidene while addressing a seminar on civil engineering projects for Hajj. Zain Al-Abidine said the monorail project, which is estimated to cost SR6.75 billion would bring about a major shift in pilgrim transportation, a major headache of Hajj managers. "This project will reduce overcrowding in the holy sites, reduce pressure on roads and help pilgrims reach their destinations early," he said.

Raytheon awarded contract by Saudi Arabia GACA

Raytheon Company has been awarded a contract by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation for a nationwide air traffic management system based upon cooperative surveillance. The contract will extend air traffic control surveillance throughout the Kingdom. It will also enhance flight safety for the rapidly growing domestic airline sector and improve the efficiency of Saudi Arabia's air traffic management system.

Egypt expands port, to tender new terminal in 2010

Egypt will issue a tender in 2010 to build a third container terminal at East Port Said on the Mediterranean to help attract over US$5 billion in investment in port and related services by 2030, the Transport Ministry said. Egypt, which controls the vital Suez Canal trade route, is seeking to boost infrastructure investment to push annual economic growth back above 7 per cent in the next two years, matching the level it reached before the world economic crisis. East Port Said has one terminal operating now, handling 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2008, roughly 40 per cent of Egypt's total container traffic of 6.08 million TEUs. Alongside East Port Said, Egypt has three other main ports. East Port Said's second container terminal is being built. The Transport Ministry said in a statement that the third terminal was part of a plan to boost East Port Said's container capacity to 8 and 13 million TEUs by 2030. The statement added that results of a tender to build and operate a liquid bulk terminal, worth LE 1.6 billion, would be announced by the end of 2009.

Qatar eyes 2022 for key links in US$23bn rail deal

Qatar aims to have most of a 17 billion euro (US$22.79 billion) rail project with Deutsche Bahn built by 2022, officials said after signing one of the biggest-ever foreign deals for German industry. Construction will run until 2026 on the project, which includes freight and passenger trains and a metro. Qatar also aims to build a connection to neighboring Saudi Arabia via a 40-kilometer causeway, one of the world's longest, to Bahrain. Qatar is the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas with economic growth expected around 9 per cent this year and is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure, real estate and economic diversification projects. In addition, Gulf Arab states are spending more than $100 billion on rail projects to ease congestion as they tackle poor public transport networks and growing population. An agreement to execute the project was signed in Doha by Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad, chief executive of state-owned Qatari Diar, and Ruediger Grube, chief executive of Deutsche Bahn AG.