The future of urban transport and road haulage: The inaugural edition of Transport Solutions Middle East will take place in March 2016 in Dubai

NEW DUBAI TRADE FAIR TO SHOWCASE LATEST MIDDLE EAST URBAN TRANSPORT AND ROAD HAULAGE INNOVATIONS

Inaugural Transport Solutions Middle East exhibition looms as GCC’s commercial vehicle numbers surge to 1.44 million by 2017

Dubai, UAE, X June 2015: The Middle East’s growing prominence as a global hub of road hau-lage, urban transport and Commercial Vehicle (CV) assembly, has been underlined by a new event in Dubai that will be the focal point of innovations propelling the industry forward.

The launch of Transport Solutions Middle East, announced today, comes as forecasts by global analysts Frost & Sullivan indicate that commercial vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, in the GCC alone will grow 5.2 per cent annually between 2015-2017, bringing the total number of CVs on the region’s roads to 1.44 million.

Rapid urbanisation and numerous government infrastructure projects are also placing the Middle East on the fast track to become one of world’s major manufacturing hubs, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE already home to heavy vehicle assembly lines for big names such as Mercedes, Volvo, MAN, Scania, Ashok Leyland, Volgren, and Praktiko.

The influx of commercial vehicles on the region’s roads combined with its international stature as a key manufacturing hub present the ideal backdrop for the inaugural edition of Transport So-lutions Middle East, which takes place from 13-15 March 2016 at the Dubai International Con-vention & Exhibition Centre.

The three-day event, organised by Comexposium Middle East, is the region’s only international exhibition covering the entire supply chain of the wider region’s road haulage and urban transport industries, showcasing the world’s leading manufacturers and service providers.

“The collective eye of the world’s Heavy Goods Vehicle and transport solutions sectors is zoom-ing in on the Middle East,”said Joaquim D’Costa, Event Director of Transport Solutions Middle East.

“More than 133,000 commercial vehicles will be sold in the GCC in 2015, while approximately 15 per cent of all regional vehicle imports are trucks valued at US$4 billion. Transport Solutions Middle East is the annual trade and networking platform the industry has been calling out for, showcasing the world’s leading suppliers, from heavy vehicle, truck, trailer, and body equipment manufacturers to IT consultants, workshop equipment, tyre and accessories manufacturers.”

Transport Solutions Middle East 2016 will attract regional government authorities and munici-palities along with agents, distributors, transport providers, fleet operators, manufacturers, and leading decision makers from throughout the Middle East. The dedicated annual platform will also be stacked with value-added features keeping the industry ahead of the curve and in-tune with the latest global and regional developments of road haulage and urban transport.

These include the Outdoor Demonstration Area, an exclusive zone allowing exhibitors to deliver live demonstrations of their machinery in action, while the Transport Solutions Innovation Award will recognise and celebrate the Middle East’s most innovative visionaries, products, and projects that are improving the everyday performance of the built vehicle.

Training the spotlight on recent trends is the Transport Solutions Conference, an interactive one-day summit that will address the changes and challenges in urban transport and road haulage, along with the latest regional regulations that are impacting the industry.

Transport Solutions Middle East 2016 will be brought to the region for the first time by the same organiser of Solutrans, a biennial five-day trade trade fair, owned by the French Federation of Bodywork Manufacturers, dedicated to bringing to light the latest innovations in road haulage and urban transport, and featuring more than 800 exhibitors from 16 countries, next November in Lyon, France.

“Our objective is to replicate the long-standing success of Europe’s premier trade platform for road haulage and urban transport, combining global expertise with local knowledge,”said Véro-niqueSestrières, Transport Business Unit Director at Comexposium Paris.

“Various regional initiatives such as the Abu Dhabi’s Surface Transport Master Plan and events such as the Dubai Expo 2020 are pushing the agenda for smarter traffic and transport develop-ment across the region, and Transport Solutions Middle East will be the heart of these new de-velopments.”

Comexposium is one of the Europe’s largest exhibition organisers, and manages a portfolio of 114 consumer and trade events covering 17 sectors. The French-based organisation’s events host 38,000 exhibitors every year, 40 per cent of which come from outside of France, while they also attract 3.5 million visitors, 350,000 of which are international.

More information about Transport Solutions Middle East is available at www.transportsolutionsme.com.