Continuing high demand for oil and gas as well as the increasing need for cost-effective means to transport goods and services across the region, has led to a spurt in demand for better transport and communications links throughout the Middle East. Governments in the GCC have been quick to realize this and have thus instigated plans for multi-billion dollar transport and networking projects that will help further the region's clout as a magnet for international logistics and engineering service providers. The GCC countries are set to spend over $100 billion on setting up modern rail networks connecting all countries of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia alone is geared up to spend $25 billion on three mega projects set to ease the transport of people and goods across the vast stretches of the Kingdom. The Saudi Landbridge project involves connecting the capital Riyadh with the Red Sea port of Jeddah with important links to the oil and industrial complexes of Jubail and Dammam on the east coast. Also underway is the North South Railway linking Riyadh via Qassim, Hail, Al-Jawf, to Al Haditha, with branches to Ras Al-Khair and Jubail to connect the bauxite and phosphate mines. While primarily meant to transport freight, authorities are also planning high-speed passenger links going forward. The Etihad or Union Railway in the UAE is a gigantic project that will ease the flow of goods and resources across the region. The $11 billion and 1,500 km railway project which is set to connect all the Emirates is due to be completed by 2017. The project will be phased over several years and will eventually connect the UAE to Saudi Arabia via Ghweifat city in the West and Oman via Al Ain in the East. Another mega rail project that has attracted interest internationally is the recent agreement among Qatar, Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to build a railway connecting the landlocked Central Asian countries rich in oil, natural gas and agricultural resources with the warm waters of the Arabian Gulf through Iran. The project will facilitate the efficient transport of Central Asian oil, gas and agricultural products to ports and oil terminals in the Gulf. Against this backdrop, Materials Handling Middle East 2011 trade fair and conference will be held on Sept.25-27 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The trade and networking event of choice for the materials handling sector in the region, is well set to provide an access window into this high-growth and high-potential market, which is in the process of transformational development. "With a large number of transport and logistics projects underway in the region, the way materials, resources and goods are transported is set to change dramatically," said Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Epoc Messe Frankfurt, organizer of the trade fair. "Projects like the Etihad Railway in the UAE, the Saudi Landbridge, the North-South Railway in Saudi Arabia, and a project to eventually link Oman, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are set to make for the easier transfer of goods and services into, out of and across the countries quickly and efficiently. These and other infrastructural projects make the Gulf an increasingly attractive destination for logistics and engineering professionals," he added.
