Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum
The Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum is a forum organized by the Saudi Arabia Railways Company (SAR), in collaboration with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP). It seeks to localize the railway industry. The virtual forum was held in Riyadh City on March 17, 2022, and featured the participation of local and international experts, industrialists, and those interested in the railway sector.
The forum presented industrial opportunities in the railway sector, in which the volume of investment amounted to about SAR1 billion. It also explored the volume of local demand and the expected return from industrial opportunities by investing in the sector's advanced modern technologies.
Objectives of Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum
The Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum aims to open the market to new manufacturers, enhance local content, contribute to achieving the objectives of the National Strategy for Transportation and Logistics, keep pace with the development and progress of Saudi Vision 2030, foster partnership with the private sector, support its participation in the development of railway infrastructure, and increase local content to meet the sector's current and future requirements.
Industrial opportunities explored in the railway forum
The Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum explored various industrial opportunities including railway manufacturing, which includes railway rails and concrete girders, wheels and wagons manufacturing, and spare parts and traction engines manufacturing.
The Saudi Arabia Railways Company (SAR) has concluded long-term agreements and contracts with some investors, according to terms agreed upon by both parties.
Work of the Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum
The Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum endeavored to encourage local manufacturers and attract global industry leaders to transfer and localize technology and knowledge, in addition to providing the advanced technologies required for the transportation and logistics sector in Saudi Arabia.
Local content in the Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum
During one of the sessions of the Railway Industrial Opportunities Forum, the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA) identified industrial opportunities of interest in the sector and tasked authority's specialized team to examine them in cooperation with strategic partners in the public and private sectors, ultimately ensuring that such opportunities are formalized and put into practice.