With estimated investments over $526 billion to be made on rail, road & bridge, air cargo and ports the region will undergo major alteration in dynamics of transportation for the better within the region. Ian Smith who is the Senior Advisor, Saudi Rail Commission explained how is the development of the rail sector helping the current intermodal framework. He mentioned, " A single train with one or two drivers can carry the TEU equivalent of hundreds of lorries. This offers customers significant efficiency improvements provided that terminal handling can be carried out equally efficiently. It will also deliver broader environmental benefits and help to reduce congestion on trunk roads. To date the rail sector in Saudi Arabia has not fulfilled its potential being constrained to fairly limited capacity on the route between Dammam and Riyadh enabling the movement of around 150,000 boxes annually. When the full Saudi and international networks are in place we expect rail to play a far greater part in the growing economies of all G.C.C. Countries."

In furtherance to his topic Ian will elaborate on developing facilities for intermodal and bulk transport and will provide with an introduction to the Saudi Rail Commission and the economic regulation of the freight business. The GCC Intermodal Transport Summit will not only focus on the possibilities for intermodal development in the region but will also educate the attendees on structuring and implementing PPP and O &M contracts in intermodal transport covering construction & operation for - seaports, airports, cross country railways – freight & passengers, city transit, toll roads.

Loay Ghazaleh from Ministry of Works, Bahrain during a pre summit interview on where does GCC stand on transport infrastructure deregulation and PPPs. Loay stated," While most GCC countries have set national and cross border railway networks priorities. Yet integration of land use with transport policy issues, consistent legislation, regulations and management at various levels of government including the building skills to deal with PPP. Complexity during procurement & contracts management to international best practices are progressing but has not yet reached the desired state. Areas of insufficient PPP regulation to create enabling PPP Environment and increase Private Sector Participation include policies to support green sustainable transport, to implement clean fuel quality standards, to increase public transport options and access, to safeguard public safety, to develop sustainable transportation demand management and to increase transport security. Appropriate legal, economic and safety institutional and regulatory framework are essential and need to be both socially and politically acceptable."

The summit will be held on 26 - 27 November 2013 at Jeddah Marriott Hotel, Jeddah. Loay Ghazaleh will put forth his views on structuring and implementing PPP and O &M contracts in intermodal transport covering construction & operation for seaports, airports, cross country railways – freight & passengers, city transit & toll roads at the summit. Backed by over 22 years diverse experience in government and private businesses spanning several sectors and several countries has joined the prestigious speaker panel at GCC Intermodal Transport Summit.
To provide an international perspective to the summit, Valerio Recagno from The European Earth Friendly Logistics Association and Peter Wolters representing European Intermodal Association will focus on European practices followed for better trade via intermodal transportation. The GCC Intermodal Transport Summit is designed to put all modes of transportation within a comparative advantage context in terms of reliability, safety, traceability, speed, punctuality, frequency, safety, comfort, environmental impact / carbon footprint and energy efficiency to facilitate their optimization.

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