British metro firms explore prospects
A delegation of 22 rail and metro companies from the UK visited Riyadh and Jeddah to present the quality of historical UK rail and metro projects. The visit was part of a weeklong program to introduce opportunities for cooperation between British companies and their Saudi counterparts.
Momdouh M. Tarabishi, CEO of the public transportation program of the Al-Madinah Metro project, gave a presentation, and explained that under the guidance of Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman, and the chairman of the Al-Madinah Metro project, they plan to develop the public transportation system of the city.
The Cabinet announced that the metro would be built in Madinah within eight years as Madinah is the second holiest city, receiving 1.5 million visitors per year, meaning that there is a large demand for facilitating public transportation to make the visits of pilgrims easy — especially around the area of the Prophet's Mosque.
“For the Madinah public transportation development program, design and construction program contracts will be tendered soon to serve the residents of Madinah and Muslims from all around the world,” he said.
He also said that they are looking forward to the mutual cooperation between UK metro companies and the Madinah project. He thanked Prince Faisal for his continuous support and guidance.
Mike Shears, UKTI railways specialist responsible for the Gulf region, said that it is through events such as this that promote the profiles of British expertise in railway and public transportation market that individual engagement with companies can lead to the development of good business projects in the region.
“We at the UKTI are here to help and support businesses in entering the market, and we work to find them suitable partners while understanding the requirements of Saudization. UK companies are already active in the Saudi market and we want them to be promoted further; we are very keen on the involvement of British experts in these major projects,” he added.
Neil Walker, international development director of Railway Industry Association, told Arab News that as the UK government’s trade specialists they can help in building businesses through good partnerships.
“We have a railway sector team dedicated to supporting UK railway companies seeking overseas trade partnerships. We assist overseas companies to bring high quality investment to the UK’s vibrant economy and help UK based companies to succeed in international markets,” he explained.
Over the next two days, the UK companies will meet the Makkah Metro team, will go to the Jeddah municipality and meet with officials of the Saudi Binladin group, according to Glyn Cartmell, deputy consul general and head of trade and investment at the British Consulate in Jeddah.
Britain has a very strong historic relationship with Saudi Arabia and with the visit of such delegations, the mutual goals of trade and cooperation can be achieved, he said.