New metro networks being planned and built across the Middle East can be a catalyst for sustainable urban development but careful planning is essential to provide long-term flexibility, says Atkins' regional transport strategist Roger Cruickshank.
Addressing construction industry leaders at the annual MEED Qatar Projects conference today (Wednesday 11 March), Roger explained that the dynamic nature of the Middle East's growing cities means planners must consider how the needs of the market and local populations may change.
He said: "Over time we expect to see a huge amount of new property development around new metro stations in the Middle East, but we have to take into consideration that many parts of our cities are still in the early stages of development. We therefore need to be flexible to change because the demands of today are not the same as those of tomorrow.
"This is in contrast to established cities such as London, Singapore and Hong Kong, where the urban context is generally mature and well understood, enabling a greater degree of clarity and certainty when planning new developments."
Roger believes that Middle East developers who enable sufficient design flexibility to permit change will be able to maximise their returns far more effectively, while also offering universal benefits to communities, businesses and rail operators.
"A residential tower today, with the appropriate internal structure, could become, at least in part, an office tower tomorrow," explained Roger. "This has a knock-on effect because it means a change in passenger footfall which impacts both passing trade and rail revenues.
"Flexibility therefore enables government and local agencies to encourage change, where needed, to stimulate areas and to find the right balance. This is about getting the essential ingredients right for people-friendly, commercially viable and environmentally sustainable communities."
Roger said the amount of transformational work that is being planned across the region places huge demands on local communities and infrastructure - and it's up to companies like Atkins to ensure development occurs seamlessly for all involved.
"'We're in the midst of a transport transformation which will result in a huge shift from roads to rail in many of the region's major cities, most immediately Doha and Riyadh," added Roger.
"This is really exciting but it also puts a big responsibility on all stakeholders involved to make sure we work together to get the best possible results which will enable successful, vibrant and healthy cities."
Roger drew on analysis from Atkins' Future Proofing Cities report, which was produced in partnership with the UK Department for International Development and University College London. The report assessed 129 major cities across Africa and Asia and was developed to help tackle risks to long term prosperity and growth.
Atkins provides design and engineering services to clients in the rail, property, infrastructure and energy sectors across the Middle East. The company is at the forefront of metro design services in the region, having delivered multidisciplinary design and civil works management services for Dubai Metro. Atkins is currently lead designer for Doha Metro's Red Line South and Gold Line packages, and for lines 4, 5 and 6 of Riyadh Metro.
-Ends-
For more information:
Ben Thompson
Head of Communications, Middle East
+971 55 300 4047
ben.thompson@atkinsglobal.com
Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultancies*, employing some 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. Our people's breadth and depth of expertise and drive to ask why has allowed us to plan, design and enable some of the world's most complex and time critical projects.
*15th largest global design firm (Engineering News-Record 2014) and the third largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe (Svensk Teknik och Design 2013).
Recent projects:
Atkins is working across urban regeneration, masterplanning, national energy programmes, major transport schemes, water and environment projects - applying smart design solutions on projects including:
- Doha Central Planning Office - helping to resource Qatar's Central Planning Office (CPO) to co-ordinate the efficient delivery of multi-modal transport services across land, air and sea as part of its 2030 National Vision;
- The London 2012 Games infrastructure transformation - technical advisor on the legacy use transition of the Olympic Park as a follow-on role to our work as the Games' official engineering and design provider;
- UAE's peaceful nuclear new build programme - providing technical assurance to lenders backing the United Arab Emirates' most ambitious energy infrastructure projects;
- North Sea and Gulf of Mexico oil and gas platforms - extending the operational life of critical oil and gas platforms to allow cost-efficient and safe recovery of fuel sources from mature fields;
- SSE offshore wind alliance - provision of expert engineering and design support for the UK's biggest offshore wind alliance with Scottish and Southern Energy;
- Crossrail - designing the Central London twin tunnels and station architecture for Europe's biggest civil engineering scheme which will see tunnels passing beneath 470 listed buildings and critical infrastructure;
- Etihad Railway - providing multidisciplinary design expertise on the 1,200 km Etihad Rail network which will revolutionise passenger and freight transport in the UAE;
- Denmark ERTMS - providing multidisiplinary signalling expertise on the first countrywide installation of an ERTMS train control and management system in Denmark;
· Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge - lead consultant on this integral part of the new Hong Kong link road scheme which will significantly boost land connectivity in the region;
- Lowestoft Sixth Form College - design of the ultralow energy consumption Lowestoft College in the UK which aims to reduce operational energy use by more than 60% compared to previous designs;
- UK National Composites Centre - providing technical expertise to bring the latest lightweight carbon fibre materials to all engineering sectors, helping to develop innovative applications and reduce costs and carbon;
- US Environmental Protection Agency - providing technical assessment and analysis of national water-related resources and ecological systems in North America;
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) superfast broadband - providing technical, commercial and procurement support to help deliver superfast broadband to one of Europe's most remote regions.
© Press Release 2015
