Six key figures leading the development of metro schemes in the region are: Mohsen Hashemi, Adnan Ahmed al-Hammadi, Atta Abd Raboh el-Sherbiny, Abdulla Rashid Khalaf al-Otaiba, Adel al-Roumi and Amal Haddad.
Mohsen Hashemi
Position: Chairman and managing director, Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company (TUSRC)
Biography: Mohsen Hashemi is chairman and managing director of the TUSRC, which operates the Tehran metro. He is also vice-president of the Middle East and North Africa division of the Brussels-headquartered International Association of Public Transport. Hashemi is the eldest son of Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, a former president of Iran. Hashemi previously worked in a number of different roles, including head of the Expediency Council secretariat, head of the presidential special inspectorate, chairman of the Iranian Union of Urban Railways, and chairman of the Iranian Association of Rail Transport Engineering. Hashemi is fluent in English, Farsi and French and is also an author. Hashemi has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Montreal in Canada.
Contact: Tel (+982) 1887 40110
Adnan Ahmed al-Hammadi
Position: Acting chief executive officer (CEO), Rail Agency, Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA)
Biography: As acting CEO, Adnan Ahmed al-Hammadi is responsible for the operation of Dubai Metro. He took up his current position in early March, following the resignation of his predecessor, Abdul Majid al-Khaja. Al-Hammadi was previously head of the street lighting maintenance division at Dubai Municipality and played a key role in outsourcing maintenance services. He was also the director of the administrative services and supply department, and director of rail projects construction within the Rail Agency. Al-Hammadi has been involved with 29 different committees within the RTA. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hartford in the US in 1987, Al-Hammadi worked at Dubai Aluminium Company and Dubai International Airport before joining Dubai Municipality.
Contact Tel: (+971) 4290 3698
Atta Abd Raboh el-Sherbiny
Position: Chairman, Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels
Biography: Atta Abd Raboh el-Sherbiny took up his current position as chairman of Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels in July 2007. Prior to this, he was head of the electro-mechanical division at the authority. El-Sherbiny graduated from the faculty of engineering at Cairo University in 1976, with a bachelor of science degree in electrical power engineering. In addition to his work at the authority, he sits on a number of boards and committees, including the Transport Projects Planning Authority and the Egyptian Company for Tunnels and Transportation Projects. In his current position, El-Sherbiny is responsible for the operation of Cairo Metro’s Lines 1 and 2. The National Authority for Tunnels will be responsible for the operation of a planned new line. Contractors are expected to be invited to bid on the construction contract for the first part of Line 3 in October 2010.
Contact Tel: (+202) 2574 5802
Abdulla Rashid Khalaf al-Otaiba
Position: Chairman, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport
Biography: Abdulla Rashid Khalaf al-Otaiba graduated in 1993 with a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, in the US. He then worked at the petroleum development department of Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations for two years. In 1996, Al-Otaiba joined the UAE Offsets Group. He later became a senior adviser to state-owned Mubadala Development Company and vice-president of marketing for Dolphin Energy. He was made chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport in December 2006, and was at the same time appointed to the Executive Council, the emirate’s supreme policy-making body. Al-Otaiba oversaw the development of Abu Dhabi’s Surface Transport Master Plan, which includes construction of a metro system, scheduled for completion by 2020.
Contact Tel: (+971) 2656 6327
Adel al-Roumi
Position: Director general, Kuwait’s Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB)
Biography: The project to build Kuwait’s first metro will be overseen by the PTB, which is headed by Adel al-Roumi. The PTB was formed in 2008 to implement public-private partnerships in Kuwait. Prior to joining the PTB, Al-Roumi worked for state-owned Kuwait Investment Authority in New York, before moving to its UK-based unit, Kuwait Investment Office, where he became senior vice-president and director of Asian investments. Al-Roumi has postgraduate degrees from the US’ Harvard School of Business, Northwestern University in the US, and the London Business School. The Kuwait metro project involves the construction of a 171-kilometre network, with four lines running across Kuwait City. About 60km of the line will be underground. The scheme is the second major project that the PTB has initiated since its establishment.
Contact Tel: (+965) 2496 5980
Amal Haddad
Position: Project manager, Metro Unit, Damascus Governorate
Biography: Amal Haddad has been in her current position as project manager of Damascus metro Green line and head of the metro department at Damascus Governorate since March 2006. Haddad joined the governorate in 1998 and has since worked in a number of roles, including traffic engineer in the traffic and transport engineering department. She has also worked as a civil engineer in the governorate. Haddad holds a diploma in traffic and transport engineering, which she obtained in 2001. She is currently pursuing a degree in computer and information systems. The Damascus metro project is intended to alleviate the city’s congestion problems. Damascus expects to invite consultants to bid for the concept and preliminary design for the Green line in the second half of 2010. The Green line is the first of four lines, that will comprise a 52km metro network around the city.
Contact Tel: (+963) 11212 7806
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