Second edition of ROADEX to be held under the Patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

ROADEX 2006 will be held at the Abu Dhabi International Exhibition & Conference Centre, from 12-15 March 2006 and feature over 200 exhibitors and 10,000 trade visitors consisting of decision-makers from among municipalities and public works departments in the region, as well as road industry professionals.

Announcing this at a briefing for diplomats and media communities, H.E. Saeed Saif Bin Jaber Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Deputy Chairman of GEC said, "ROADEX has expanded its scope from its previous edition in 2004 to include Parking and Traffic as additional segments in addition to Roads, Bridges and Tunnels, which were the focus segments at the last edition. With these additions, ROADEX 2006 will be a comprehensive event targeting all aspects of the fast expanding road industry".

Highlighting the issue of road safety and its impact on economies in the region, Mr. Wim Westerhuis, High Representative, International Road Federation (IRF), said, "Road deaths in the Gulf cost between 1.5 and 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our estimates show that in the UAE, road deaths cost 1.6% of the GDP, whereas in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait this figure is 2.4% and 1.8% respectively. As compared to these figures, the impact of road deaths on GDP is less than 0.75% in countries like the US, the UK, France and Germany".

"It is in this context that we are looking forward to organising a special session on road safety at ROADEX 2006, bringing together leading experts from around the world to focus on this challenge".

Elaborating on the potential for the road industry in the Middle East H.E. Al Suwaidi said, "In 2003-2004, Bahrain allocated $104.41 million (383.18 million dirhams) for roads, bridges and sewerage (Source: Global Investment House). A 45-km Causeway between Bahrain and Qatar is being built at a cost of $1.8 billion (6.60 billion dirhams) (Source: Global Investment House). Similarly in 2003, Oman allocated $26.15 million (95.97 million dirhams) for Roads (Source: Ministry of National Economy, Sultanate of Oman). In 2004, the budget allocation in Kuwait to the Ministry of Public Works increased by $62.58 million (229.66 million dirhams) over 2003 (Source: National Bank of Kuwait)".

An allocation of $1.87 billion (6.86 billion dirhams) was made in 2005 in Saudi Arabia for new projects including roads, intersections and bridges, road lights and cleaning-related projects according to the Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabia. The Public Works Authority (PWA) in Qatar has allocated a spend $3.72 billion (13.65 billion dirhams) on roads by the year 2009. (www.menareport.com). In Kuwait, a project is on to build a 25-kilometre causeway, linking Subbiya in the north to Kuwait City at a cost of US$1.5 billion (5.50 billion dirhams).

ROADEX 2006 is being organised by the General Exhibitions Corporation (GEC), the Department of Municipalities & Agriculture, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Public Works.
The significance and the potential that ROADEX 2006 represents has attracted leading supporters and sponsors for the event. The supporters for the event include; The International Road Federation (IRF), The World Roads Association (PIARC), and the Italian Asphalt & Road Association (SITEB). 3M has confirmed as one of the co-sponsors at the event.