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Jordan to promote rail project in France
A Jordanian government delegation will visit Paris on Friday to promote Jordan's national railway project and outline financial sources available to support it, state news agency Petra has reported. The delegation will meet with 40 financial and banking institutions, as well as railway companies from various countries.
Abu Dhabi to receive bids for road project in Dec
John Lee, an advisor to Abu Dhabi's Department of Transport, has said the emirate will receive bids in December for a $2.72bn highway project, Bloomberg has reported. The 327-kilometre road will link the emirate to Saudi Arabia.
Agility posts 15% rise in Q3 profit
Kuwait-based logisitics firm Agility has exceeded forecasts by posting a 15% rise in third-quarter net profits, Reuters has reported. Net income in the three months to September 30 rose to KD40.5m from KD35.2m in the year-earlier period. Net profit for the first nine months of 2009 also climbed 7% to KD115.5m, compared to the same period a year earlier.
Dubai metro nears 3m passengers
The number of passengers using Dubai metro is about 40% higher than had been expected prior to the launch of the rail service, the Roads and Transport Authority has said. Nearly three million passengers have used the metro in its first two months at an average of 57,000 trips per day, said Peyman Parham, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications, RTA. Some days the numbers are as high as 90,000 to 100,000, he added. "The daily number has been lower on week days and higher on weekends, averaging at about 57,000 per day. But there were a few days when it went to 90,000 to 100,000. The total number is 40 per cent higher than we expected," he said.
Saudi monorail project to partially open next year
Habeeb Zain Al-Abidine, deputy minister of Saudi Arabia's municipal and rural affairs ministry, has said that Makkah's monorail project will be partially operational next year and fully operational a year later, Arab News has reported. Studies are now under way on extending the monorail to a station close to the Grand Mosque in Makkah, to link it with the Haramain Railway that connects the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. 'Once we find this project to be a success, we'll apply this system for the transportation of pilgrims even outside the holy sites,' Al-Abidine said.
Dubai driving process changes mooted
Under a proposal by Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the process for training young drivers and maintaining standards for professionals would undergo sweeping changes, The National has reported. Lorry, bus and taxi drivers who suffer from chronic illnesses and other health issues would be required to receive official permission to drive and to submit health examination results every five years, while drivers under 21 would fall under a provisional licensing regime mandating yearly renewal, and their vehicles would be marked with special plates, the RTA said.
GAC ties up with Pole Position Spitsbergen
GAC Group has announced its alliance with Pole Position Spitsbergen AS, establishing its base on the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The partnership is aimed at serving client needs, particularly those in the oil and gas sector. The company is also offering polar bear protection for vessels intending to berth outside of the island's settlements.
Syria opens coastal radar stations
The General Department of Harbours in the Syrian port city of Lattakia has announced the completion of the installation of five radar stations along the coastline that cover the Syrian territorial waters and is aimed at guaranteeing the safety of ships, the state news agency SANA has reported. Two watch towers have been also completed in Lattakia and Tartous, in addition to preparing the two harbours to use a radar system for controlling maritime movement using the VTMS system, in addition to stations for Automatic Identification System (AIS) for ships.
Kuwait moving forward with metro project
Kuwait has invited consultants to express interest in its 171-kilometre metro project, MEED magazine has reported. The estimated $7bn scheme will involve building four lanes, with 60km of the network underground. The successful developer will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the metro network for an undisclosed period of time.
Dubai metro passenger tally tops 2.5m
The Dubai Metro has served over 2.5 million passengers since launching operations on September 9, Gulf News has reported, citing a Roads and Transport Authority official. Ramadan Abdullah, director of operations at the agency, said the service is averaging 57,000 passengers per day.
ADNOC unit inks deal with Drydocks World
ADNOC Group's shipping arm, ADNATCO-NGSCO has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Drydocks World, WAM has reported. According to the agreement, some of ADNATCO-NGSCO vessels will be able to use Far Eastern facilities owned by Drydocks World in Singapore and on Batam Island, Indonesia. ADNATCO-NGSCO comprises two fleets. Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company (ADNATCO) operates a fleet of chemicals, petroleum products RoRo and bulk carriers, while National Gas Shipping Company (NGSCO) owns and manages eight LNG tankers.
Saudi's land transport sector rising
Ali Hassan Naqoor, deputy chairman of Saudi Arabia's National Transport Committee, has said the private and public investments in the land transport sector during the last five years are estimated at nearly SR300bn, Arab News has reported. The sector's annual growth is estimated at 10%, while the pilgrim transport sector is growing at 10% to 15% annually, he said. 'There are now 16 transport companies, which own more than 20,000 buses of different types and models,' Naqoor told the newspaper.
Egypt to tender new terminal in 2010
The Egyptian Transport Ministry has said a tender will be issued next year to build a third container terminal at East Port Said on the Mediterranean as part of a plan to boost the port's container capacity to 8 and 13 million TEUs by 2030, Reuters has reported. East Port Said has one terminal operating now, handling 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2008, roughly 40% of Egypt's total container traffic of 6.08 million TEUs.
Gulf Navigation to expand tanker fleet
Gulf Navigation Holding (Gulfnav) is in talks with an unnamed company to buy four petrochemical carriers as it looks to expand its fleet of tankers via acquisitions and new manufacturing. The company, which currently owns 15 tankers, has suffered a torrid year, with a 91% fall in nine-month profits. But Abdullah Al Shuraim, the Chairman of Gulf Navigation Holding, said the company is in late-stage talks to buy a further four petrochemical tankers. "The board has instructed the executive committee and the company's management to carry on looking for best opportunities to buy crude oil and product tankers, either through acquisition or new buildings of low prices, which will assuredly achieve the company's strategy to increase its fleet," he told Emirates Business 24/7.
Gulfnav net profits drop to Dhs11.62m
Gulf Navigation Holding (Gulfnav) has announced its nine-month consolidated performance. It has posted a net profit of Dhs11.62m compared to Dhs136.9m for the same period of 2008. The company's operating profit has dropped to Dhs101.62m against Dhs189.85m, while revenues posted declines at Dhs255.46m as against Dhs306.45m.
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