Autonomous Vehicles at NATRANS Expo

The world media was buzzing with the news that 25% of all transportation in Dubai will be smart and driverless by 2030. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced on Twitter last month the launch of a new strategy that would see smart driverless vehicles take over the roads of Dubai. The announcement comes as part of Dubai's strategy to become the smartest city in the world and achieve a sustainable economy in the UAE.

The new strategy will contribute to increasing the efficiency of the transport sector and reducing congestion and pollution. It also aims to save people millions of hours wasted during travel and increase the productivity of individuals. Furthermore, it will reduce transportation costs by 44 percent or Dh900 million, saving Dh1.5 billion through reduction of environmental pollution, and Dh18 billion through raising efficiency of the transport sector by 20 percent.

Driverless commercial/passenger vehicles, autonomous cars, hybrid & electric cars, immersive experiences such as hyperloop transportation, plus the latest in smart tap & pay bicycles will all be showcased at NATRANS Expo. The event will be held from 25 to 26 October 2016, in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuami, Minister of Infrastructure Development, and Chairman of the Federal Transport Authority – Land and Maritime.

NATRANS Expo is developed in partnership with the UAE Federal Transport Authority and aims to be the GCCs leading future transport technology and ITS trade show. The event will showcase the most advanced technologies across a wide range of applications in today’s smart cities; from Road & Traffic, smart parking solutions, automatic incident & real time traffic telemetry, signals, nationwide interoperable ETC systems, metro & rail infrastructure projects, maritime and ports, security solutions to green city buses and autonomous vehicles.

Commenting on the event, H.E. Dr. Abdullah Alkathiri, Director General of the Federal Transport Authority – Land and Maritime said: "The UAE is always attracting the latest trends and discoveries in numerous aspects of the transportation technology that will bolster the UAE's initiatives to advance its society in various sectors." 

H.E. Alkathiri went on saying: "We look forward to the participation of hundreds of high-level experts and specialists in the transport and smart cities sectors from all over the world at the second edition of NATRANS Expo. We also expect 100 exhibitors and 75 speakers from global institutions and bodies concerned to attend NATRANS Expo."

In line with its mission to regulate, plan and develop an efficient and well-integrated transport system that serves the public interest by enhancing mobility and delivering safe, secure and environmentally responsible Aviation, Maritime, Public Transport and Highway sectors, the Department of Transport and Municipal Affairs in Abu Dhabi has compiled a number of Surface Transport Master Plans (STMPs) that cover various modes of transport in different areas within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Alex Heuff, Exhibition Director, said: “The outlook for the transportation sector in the UAE is positive, driven by government investment programs like Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi’s ‘Surface Transport Master Plan’ (STMP) which aims at improving the country’s strategic infrastructure. Investments in Abu Dhabi are in line with Abu Dhabi’s STMP, while investments in the transportation sector in Dubai are mainly driven by the Expo 2020. Rail and road sectors account for more than 85 percent of the planned projects”. 

“This ambitious infrastructure investment plan includes 386 projects to be completed in a five-year period (2015-2020), including highways, junctions, bridges, ports, railways, airports and roads”. He concluded.

A Technical Conference will be running parallel to the event; it will be the industry meeting point for all top transport professionals. It will deliver a diverse line up of industry experts, academics and market leaders with more than 75+ speakers from 30 countries and over 300 delegates.

One of the key speakers at the NATRANS Conference, Dr. Nuha Eltinay, Director of Urban Planning and Sustainable Development at the Arab Urban Development Institute said:” Smart Cities are complex systems and centres for innovation and growth. With a trend towards greater global urbanization, smart people proved to be the core of Smart cities”. 

“Building on the of UAE vision towards innovative transportation by 2030, empowering the UAE people with the tools and mechanisms for public participatory planning and smart engagement remains a necessity”. She added. 

“Addressing transportation ICT based hard infrastructure challenges, alongside the opportunities for development through ‘soft infrastructure’ of social networks legal and cultural structures, is the key potential towards Sustainable Communities for Smarter Cities in the UAE”. Altinay concluded.  

The conference will discuss the very latest in multimodal transportation systems. Key themes include: financing, Smart Cities, ITS traffic management, Internet of Things solutions, metros & rail, smart parking solutions and the future modes of transportation. It will also highlight the seamless linking of Rail, Road, Maritime and Aviation sectors through innovations ranging from passenger security, payments and customer experience and e-government across all modes of public transportation.  

NATRANS Expo is organized by Fleming. and with the support of the Federal Transport Authority Land and Maritime. With Last Mile Consortia as the platinum sponsor, Honeywell as the Gold Sponsor, Lean Park as the parking innovation partner and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies as the Strategic Partner. Several big players in the market will also be participating at the event, such as Easy Mile, Aeromobil, Mitsubishi, AECOM and Emirates Driving Company.