S04 TRME 6 2021 Annual Transport Review_Layout 1 09/12/2021 11:22 Page 14
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Annual Transport Review
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The way people travel, transport, and deliver goods is set to shift considerably, experts reckon.
Brave new world
The Middle East transport sector is set for major shifts over the coming decades as sustainability, decarbonisation and digital transformation drive structural changes. UTOMATION AND SUSTAINABILITY remain major drivers shaping the transport sector in the Middle East, setting the scene for some major structural changes in the decades ahead. The way people travel, transport, and deliver goods is set to shift considerably, experts reckon, as a result of technology disruption, decarbonisation efforts and digital transformation. It presents an exciting glimpse into the future — but also a challenge for businesses. The Dubai Airshow held in November proved to be an opportunity to reconnect industry leaders and stakeholders, helping to understand the latest perspectives on rebuilding the aviation industry, along with airline growth and sustainability plans as well as new innovations. At the Hypermotion Dubai showcase, held in early November, experts said that road and urban transport may be about to undergo their biggest transformation since the invention of the internal combustion engine in the 1880s. It could mean more smart highways and
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driverless cars, reduced vehicle ownership, and more shared car journeys — it could even mean going underground, according to Dr Nahid Sidki, chief technology officer of Riyadhbased Research Products Development Company (RPDC). “There will be fewer roads,” said Dr Nahid, “and there will be underground roads, with NEOM in Saudi Arabia among the few in the world now emphasising underground networks for transportation and utilities.” Asset sharing of trucks and buses is also likely to become more popular — on any given day, many of the millions of trucks and buses on the roads moving goods and people travel half empty. Sharing could immediately reduce total mileage covered and cut overall emissions. Gaurav Biswas, founder and chief executive of Trukker, a digital freight platform for the MENA region, said technology has already evolved to help transform the industry and move it in such a direction. “Technology is now at the point where we can capture the data and connect demand with supply,” he said.
Technical Review Middle East - Issue Six 2021
The general shift to greener roads and travel also throws up a multitude of challenges for policymakers and regulators. Anthony Foxx, a former US Transportation Secretary, and now chief policy officer of ride sharing app Lyft, said at the event, “The intensity of urban growth will put pressure on the transport system. We have to think differently about the future than we have in the past.”
Recovery and regional development Where there are challenges, however, there are also opportunities, especially as the Gulf’s economy picks up once again. For starters, there is no doubt that activity levels are rebounding once again after the economic jolt from the lockdowns imposed by governments around the world in the wake of the Covid19 crisis. The launch of the new Bahrain cargo airline MENA Cargo, highlights a general uptick in air transport after Covid19, and underscores growing commercial ties between the Gulf and Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, ports giant DP World said it handled 58.4 million TEU (twentyfoot www.technicalreview.me
