Five international companies qualified to operate & maintain the Water Bus

Engineer Abdul Rahman Al Dosari, CEO of Marine Transport Agency, RTA stated that the Agency has attracted the best companies and qualified five international companies bidding from Holland, Australia, Singapore, Turkey and UK for operating and maintaining the Water Bus. Those companies have submitted their bids in alliance with national companies specialized in the field of marine transport, he added.

"The qualifying process has been carried out within the timeline set for this purpose spanning from May 5th up to the end of July 2007; where the actual operation of the Water Bus will kick off in Dubai Creek. The contracting formalities have been sorted out and the tender documents have been forwarded to the bidding companies for submitting their financial and technical bids" Al Dosari stated.

He further added that qualification has been made after completing the technical and contractual conditions of the project (Terms of Reference). The project has been put out to tender on May 17th and bids will be opened on May 28th. The winning company will be selected on Monday 4th June 2007.

Al Dosari elaborated that there are several key elements attached to the technical and contractual conditions of the Water Bus Operation and Maintenance Project. Such elements are summarized in: the operational efficiency, security & safety, performance measurement indicator (KPI), electronic systems, monitoring and mooring systems, automatic fee collection systems (AFC), fuel options, the technical specifications of the engine and chassis and the mechanism of providing information about the service to customers through which the Agency will be able to interact with the public.

He concluded by saying that through embarking on such course of action, the Marine Transport Agency is aiming to attain highest quality standards and adopt top security and safety measures in accordance with the best international practices. This project, which is integrating with the various means of transport in the emirate, is expected to commute more than two million passengers in the first year and the number is likely to reach five millions in future.