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Investment
in Arriyadh
and buses. The opportunities in the support and upgrading of ITC
systems will also play to the strengths of emerging Saudi computer
entrepreneurs and young talented Saudi software experts and
programmers and developers.
Within the construction contracts that have been awarded to
the three international consortia there are a number of offsetting
requirements to promote Saudization and local businesses. These
include a Technology Transfer Plan including the handover of capital
equipment, university presentations and having a minimum proportion
of Saudi nationals as part of the team. There will also be locally
organized and run conferences and exhibitions. Contractors have also
submitted a maintenance schedule for the operational metro network.
Then there are, as the ADA points out, the data streams that will
be generated by passengers and their usage of the system. Capture
and analysis of the data will help planners, marketeers and product
developers to target their calculations and businesses.
Long Term Benefits for Arriyadh
In addition there is going to be a significant reduction in the
total cost of doing business in the capital, as bottlenecks and
the frustrations and stresses that go with them are swept away.
While executives will be able to arrive for their meetings on
time, the physical distribution of goods will be faster and more
efficient. Such cost reductions not only benefit local business
but also foreign investors who have chosen or will choose to
base their Saudi or regional operations in Arriyadh. This is not
an idle sentiment. Every great commercial city is currently
struggling to maintain the swift movement of its citizens.
There will be envious looks at the extraordinary system with
which the Saudi capital is now equipping itself. Foreign business
will certainly take advantage of the state-of-the-art transport
infrastructure, and will probably enjoy the kudos of being able
to do so.
In wider infrastructural terms, the ADA had always intended
that the new public transport system would complement its
long-term plans for the development of outlying areas of the
capital. The availability of safe and comfortable transport from
distant suburbs is going to reshape and further invigorate
the already strong real estate market. But there will be other
benefits which include the availability of extra power as a
backup for the metro. For much of the time power can be used
for other purposes, thus further boosting economic opportunity.
Taking millions of journeys off the roads is also going to
have a major effect on traffic safety on Arriyadh’s highways.
There will be fewer road traffic accidents, with a reduction in
injuries and deaths on city roads. That is only going to reduce
the call on citywide accident and emergency services, reduce the
enormous economic and social costs resulting from accidents
and reduce the heartache and anxiety of the families of those
harmed in collisions. It is also possible that with fewer claims
to meet, insurers of vehicles in the city are going to be cutting
their premiums in what is already a competitive market.
And naturally there is the environmental impact. Not only are
hospitals likely to have to treat ever fewer people for respiratory
diseases and other conditions brought on by poor quality air;
the capital is going to become an altogether more pleasant and
quieter place in which to live and work.
Several horizons demonstrate areas where local capability
provides opportunities related to the King Abdulaziz Project
for Public Transport in Arriyadh. Prospective sectors in which
limited or low local capability has been identified point to clear
encouraging prospects for inward investment, potential foreign
involvement and joint ventures. Analysis of major-spend
categories reveals seven high impact supply market sectors that
provide opportunities for suppliers over the life of the project.
Using the International Standard Industrial Classification of
All Economic Activities (ISIC Codes) they include mining and
quarrying, wholesale and retail trade and repair, construction
and real estate as areas with high level capability existing in
Arriyadh. Manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical
activities, transportation and storage; and information and
communication are sectors with medium local capability.
On the construction horizon of the project are various bus and
rail business opportunities that are spread across as various key
sectors. Under the construction and real estate sector is the ISIC
division of specialised construction activities in a setting of
mature capability in Arriyadh. Key business opportunities here
include construction for long-distance pipelines, communication
lines, power lines, water lines ancillary works. Mature local
capability extends to civil engineering with the construction
of all categories of roads including bridges, cuts, tunnels and
elevated highways and pedestrian ways. This also includes
surface work and asphalt paving of roads, road painting and
other markings, the installation of crash barriers and traffic
signs and lights.
Several major divisions within the manufacturing sector
have been identified with associated bus and rail business
opportunities in the construction phase:
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