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Dubai: No road, transport projects delayed by Covid-19, says top official

He also said that all Expo 2020-related infrastructure projects were completed on time despite the pandemic

None of Dubai's roads and transport projects were delayed or impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, a senior official said on Sunday.

In addition, all the infrastructure projects related to Expo 2020 Dubai were also completed on time.

"We are lucky enough that we have leadership which guided us through the pandemic. None of our projects whether it was infrastructure, mobility or transport were impacted time-wise or faced delays due to the pandemic. We had to deliver transport requirements for the Expo 2020 Dubai and all of our commitments and infrastructure projects for the Expo were on time," said Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of Public Transport Agency at Roads and Transport Authority.

"Of course, there are challenges of having the right people available at the right time but there are ways to overcome those and that leads to partnerships. However, it's important that partners share the same vision to continue to grow and overcome the challenges," Bahrozyan said while speaking at the fourth edition of the Mena Transport Congress and Exhibition 2022 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Highlighting the importance of public-private partnership, he said, in Dubai, most of the services that the Authority delivers are in partnership with the private sector, whether it's the sourcing of the Metro with Keolis, joint venture with Careem, the upcoming launch of autonomous taxis among others.

He added that the world is becoming very complex, and with the demand for people living in the cities increasing, no city can do it on its own without the private sector's partnership.

"We want to be one of the first cities to introduce urban solutions. If you want to be in a city like Dubai, which is always at the forefront of innovation, you have to be brave, because nobody has done it before and you'll set the benchmark for the innovation. You have to be flexible in partnership models and understand what is the motivator for the private sector and where both sides can feel they are winning," Bahrozyan said during a panel discussion on the first day of the three-day event.

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Hiba Fares, Chairwoman of Executive Board, RATP Dev, Paris, said public transport is essential during big crises like the pandemic.

She said: "Ridership won't' be back soon enough or fast enough because we have some structural issues to tackle not just due to fear about pandemic but due to the growth of work-from-home and other factors. So we are really in a big challenge where revenues are lower and expectations are really higher because people expect safety and at the same time we have a tighter budget."

Bernard Tabary, CEO International, Keolis; Dan Pettersson, Senior Vice President of Business Unit Chassis, Volvo Bus Corporation, Sweden; Arrigo Giana, CEO, ATM, Milan, Italy, also addressed the panel discussion.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com