The Spanish Railway Association (Mafex) starts 2015 with a new agenda and will attend "GCC Rail and Metro Conference", the first joint conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which was held in Oman Jan. 11-12. This professional platform brings together major personalities from the transport sector of the Middle East, a market of primary interest for Spanish exports.
The visit of more than 500 delegates, government officials, lawmakers and industry experts from the GCC states, Europe and North America, is expected. Also, senior officials and heads of public railway companies in Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait will participate.
For two days, representatives from Mafex will visit this exhibition to strengthen trade ties and discuss business opportunities regarding investment plans in infrastructure that exist in the area.
Business growth opportunities in the railway sector
The rail network planned for the Persian Gulf will connect the six GCC countries. In addition, a section linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will be included. The new infrastructure will be used primarily for transporting goods, but also for transporting passengers.
In parallel to this joint project, each country will take the opportunity to extend the railway network in each of their areas. For example, for the railway project in Oman a batch of over $12 billion has been approved.
As explained by the Minister of Transport and Communications of Oman, Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Salim Al Futaisi, "the goal is to develop a powerful rail network with which to respond to the demand for transport of passengers and goods."
In order to overcome major challenges faced from a technical and operational point of view, highly specialized companies in all subsectors are the target. The goal is to provide the technology needed to successfully carry out new infrastructure. For this reason, the Spanish industry is emerging as an alternative with great options as it has consolidated experience in this field. Also, Spain has a portfolio of large projects in the area.
