day NATRANS Arabia conference and exhibition, which opens on Sunday 25 October 2015, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), is billed as the only integrated, coordinated, multimode transportation event in the GCC showcasing designs for more than $200 billion worth of transportation projects. The event, which is being held in partnership with the UAE Federal Transport Authority – Land and Maritime and held under the patronage of Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Public Works and Chairman of the Federal Transport Authority - Land and Marine, will feature three dedicated, but relevant conference streams. Each stream focuses on a specific area of transportation infrastructure technology, branded under a broader heading of either rail, road or maritime, allowing commercial stakeholders to align their regional market strategy with individual and joint government plans for all three sectors across the GCC countries. "The dynamism of the region's transportation infrastructure segment is driving innovation with the UAE emerging as a leader with plans to introduce various mass transportation systems including the Etihad Rail project in Abu Dhabi and the Route 2020 project in Dubai," said Alex Heuff, Exhibition Director, NATRANS Arabia. Other significant transportation projects in the GCC include an integrated rail transport system in Doha scheduled for completion in 2030, while Saudi Arabia has outlined plans for more than $140 billion worth of public transport infrastructure projects in the Kingdom. The three-day multi-stream conference program incorporates the 6th Middle East Rail Opportunities conference, as well as the Middle East Road Conference and the Middle East Maritime Conference. Road safety strategies, ITS and public transport are top of the agenda for the conference. Over 80 exhibiting companies present to showcase their latest transportation technologies, in excess of 2,000 trade visitors from across the region. The exhibition, which runs alongside the main conference, is divided into four themed zones to match complement the educational component of the conference, plus an extra zone showcasing intelligent transport systems. — SG
