Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The Saudi Railways Firm (SAR) will launch a particular program to localize the railway business subsequent week. This was introduced by CEO of SAR Dr. Bashar Al-Malik.
The launch shall be made through the actions of the primary version of the Saudi Worldwide Railways Convention, which shall be held underneath the patronage of Minister of Transport and Logistics and Chairman of the Board of Administrators of SAR Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser, in Riyadh on Nov. 20 -21. The convention will evaluate the newest developments and improvements within the railway sector on the native and worldwide ranges.
Al-Malik stated that the SAR was capable of obtain a neighborhood spending price exceeding 50 p.c throughout 2023, and aspires to lift it to 60 p.c by 2025 by way of sector companions. “Clear targets and promising funding alternatives within the railway sector shall be introduced through the convention, and these embody establishing factories inside the Kingdom, localizing companies, and transferring data with main worldwide corporations within the railway business. That is by way of empowering and supporting the non-public sector and small and medium enterprises, and investing in fashionable applied sciences that replicate on enterprise sustainability,” he stated.
Al-Malik stated that SAR has applied lately many initiatives, in cooperation with authorities and personal entities, with the purpose of localizing industries associated to the operation and upkeep of prepare infrastructure. This had a direct influence on elevating the share of native spending, in addition to growing the participation of the non-public sector, reaching greater than 10,000 direct and oblique jobs, with a job localization price exceeding 88 p.c.
He acknowledged that Saudi Arabia was the primary within the area to undertake quick electrical trains that don’t emit any carbon emissions, most notably the Haramain Excessive Velocity Practice.
“SAR has carried out hydrogen prepare experiments for the primary time within the Center East and Africa, as a part of its dedication to attaining the targets of the Saudi Inexperienced Initiative. Preparations are underway for the subsequent part of those experiments,” he stated.
Al-Malik acknowledged that railway transportation companies are a sustainable and environmentally pleasant choice, on account of their potential to cut back the variety of vans and automobiles touring on highways every day. This transformation instantly contributes to lowering dangerous carbon emissions, which contributes to preserving the atmosphere. Any such transport additionally helps shield street infrastructure and enhances site visitors security ranges.
The SAR chief famous that railways are thought of as one of many primary logistical capabilities in lots of international locations of the world, on account of their very important function in facilitating the transportation of products, commerce alternate, and financial improvement of nations. “The Saudi railways performs an vital function in making certain the continuity and easy circulate of world commerce, particularly in gentle of the present geopolitical challenges. The Kingdom’s trains had been prepared to move massive portions of containers and items coming by way of the Pink Sea, after many delivery strains diverted the course of numerous their ships to the ports of the Japanese Province linked to the railway community (Dammam Port and Jubail Port), after which transported them on to the dry port in Riyadh through SAR cargo trains,” he stated whereas emphasizing the very important function of trains as a strategic technique of transportation that may be relied upon in occasions of geopolitical turmoil.
Al-Malik defined that Saudi Arabia has two qualitative tasks, particularly the Land Bridge and the “Gulf Linkage Challenge”, which instantly contribute to attaining “Imaginative and prescient 2030” to be a world logistics platform linking three continents, and thus all international locations within the area will profit from that.
It’s noteworthy that this convention comes inside the framework of SAR’s efforts to attain the targets of the Nationwide Technique for Transport and Logistics, in keeping with Imaginative and prescient 2030, by attracting and localizing the newest rail transport applied sciences, and enhancing the Kingdom’s function as a world logistics heart in cooperation with the related authorities internally and externally.
