Saudi Arabia's public transport chief has set out a vision for a “smooth, liveable” Riyadh powered by a six-line metro that is earmarked for expansion before it has even opened.
Khalid Alhogail, the general manager of Saudi Arabia Public Transport Company, told The National that the under-construction metro was “in a race” to keep up with population growth.
He said the growth of public transport in the Middle East and North Africa showed the world what can be achieved even in a hot, car-heavy region.
Metros and light rail networks in Dubai, Doha, Cairo and Casablanca have helped put the region on the public transport map. The UAE’s Etihad Rail project formally opened for freight in February and plans to soon carry passengers as well.
Operators have used a summit of the International Public Transport Association in Barcelona this week to show off low-emission Gulf transport plans and innovations to the world.
Mr Alhogail, the association’s departing president, said the rise of transport “gigaprojects” in the region had been 15 years in the making, after the Middle East once turned to more established operators for expertise.
Speaking on the penultimate day of his two-year term, he said traffic congestion and the Covid-19 pandemic had also spurred the rise of alternatives such as walking, cycling and scooters.
“Today we have become a reference point for the other nations who are now growing their cities and developing their transportation, to see a very good example that has been executed in our region,” he said.
“Having low-cost fuel, having more challenging weather doesn’t enhance public transport. But we did it.”
The use of public transport in Dubai has trebled as a share of all journeys since 2006, the summit was told, with plans also under way for a flying taxi system and a zero-emission fleet of buses.
Riyadh’s buses account for only a small share of trips in the Saudi capital but the picture will change when the city opens its six-line, 176km metro system.
The metro will be connected to an expanded bus network and is expected to open by 2024, with Mr Alhogail also keen to offer better walking and cycling options.
He said officials were already exploring the possibility of extending some of the metro lines before they have even opened, as Riyadh’s population of 7.5 million is forecast to hit 15 to 20 million by 2030.
“We are in a race with the expansion of the city in all directions,” he said. “To make it happen in a smooth, liveable city [means] providing the best network that saves people time and makes the city enjoyable.
“Having the best network of vehicles, best buses, best trains, best technology – this will attract them and push them from private to public.”
Qatar’s 76km metro opened in time for the football World Cup last year. The Casablanca tram started running in Morocco in 2012 and two new lines are scheduled to open next year.
A 110km Bahrain metro is also in the works and there are similar proposals in Kuwait and Oman.
The UAE’s Etihad Rail signed an agreement with Uber last month as it looks to build on its initial freight haulage with a passenger link between 11 cities and areas, including a 50-minute between Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Dubai is advertising its net-zero transport push as it prepares to host the Cop28 climate summit at Expo City in November.
Mohamed Mezghani, the global transport body’s secretary general, lauded Dubai and the wider region for being a model for other countries.
Although cities in the Middle East “in most cases were designed for cars, they realise that public transport could boost the city”, he said.
Mr Alhogail is stepping down as the body's president on the expiry of his two-year term. His successor will be Ottawa transport chief Renee Amilcar.
RACECARD
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Teams
India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
South Africa (squad): Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
