Huge delegate participation marks the first day of Saudi Mega Infrastructure Projects 2012

The Summit which is being successfully organized by MEED Events, endorsed and permitted by Ministry of Commerce & Industry by the efforts of gC Company, Ltd., Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, highlighted the development of mega-projects in the Kingdom, the region's largest construction sector.

The Summit is being supported by fa Partners, an architecture engineering construction group of companies as well.

Few of the key speakers at the Summit, included Edmund O' Sullivan, Chairman, MEED; George Krupa, Rail Program Manager, Parsons; Dr. Konstantinos Giannakos, Project Director, SALFO & Associates SA for Saudi Arabian Railway Company, & former President of Hellenic Railways Organization and Stephen Bradbury-knight, Rail Operations Director, TUV Rheinland.

They talked about sectors like transport infrastructure (road, rail, aviation), Social infrastructure (education, healthcare) & utilities infrastructure (power & water, desalination, renewable, waste management). The Summit began by an operational discussion on these major sectors.

One of the key speakers, Dr. Konstantinos Giannakos, Project Director, SALFO & Associates SA for Saudi Arabian Railway Company, & former President of Hellenic Railways Organization, opined, "This Summit is not just a Summit, its a great way of connecting with industry people coming from various regions. Such kind of high level of event is very helpful for industry as they play a great role in exchanging ideas and sharing new knowledge about advanced technologies."

Today, Saudi Arabia has the largest mega projects market in the region by virtue of strong demographic growth, high oil prices and a capital investment program backed by strong political and economic support. The Summit, thus, offered an unprecedented insight and access into the knowledge of the biggest business to business projects market in the MENA region to its delegates.

"The first day of the Summit was the Saudi Rail Focus Day rendered an interesting insight into the Rail sector of Saudi Arabia and the opportunities attached to it for both local and international contractors, consultants and specialist rail service providers. I believe the railway technologies need to be more integrated with other means of transportation like roads/highways, buses, metros, etc, to enable a better density of people mobility to the Central Business District and neighbourhood communities. I believe a revolution is needed in the rail sector so as to drive the people and economy of the country towards a better future." maintained Mr. Faisal S. Alfadl, Founder of Saudi Green Building Council and a prospective member of World Green Building Council.

"This event wouldn't have been possible without the permission of Saudi Government and support of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz whose vision to allow independent economic b2b conferences such as this one is the reason behind making this summit a reality." he added.

"Participation of this magnitude by the delegates coming from various parts of the neighbouring countries for this Summit signifies its importance and success. We are delighted that the delegates have come forward to imbibe the phenomenal knowledge about the huge market size offered by the expert speakers and it is really overwhelming for all of the sponsors as well. It is good that they are interested in learning more and more about Kingdom's Rail sector and infrastructure market, key functions of energy-efficient infrastructure and related green technologies. The second day of the vent will focus on more green issues." said Edmund O' Sullivan, Chairman, MEED Events.

Ramadan A. Harb, Transportation Department, Deputy Department Manager, who was also present at the Summit said, "I am happy to attend this summit and I am enjoying this highly enriching experience to rub shoulders with top industry players. I liked the presentations made by different speakers as they focused on the details of various sectors including operations, maintenance, rail tracks and safety. Most of all, I enjoyed the enlightening presentation of Dr. Konstantinos Giannakos."

A delegate attending the summit, Mr. Roger Nickells, Managing Director-Middle East, Buro Happold, said, "It is enticing to be a part of this mega summit. It is like a learning experience and it is a great chance to connect with other industry professionals. I am eager to get involved in industry events such as this one and my support goes out to my industry as a whole. I look forward to next two days of the summit."