Riyadh's public transport network has recorded around half a billion users in less than two years of operation, Deputy Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Dr. Rumaih bin Mohammed Al-Rumaih said in Riyadh. He noted that the Riyadh Metro has 85 stations, backed by a bus network running on a mix of electric power and conventional fuel, and described it as the largest metro network ever built in one go. The take-up, he said, signals a shift in travel habits despite earlier expectations that residents would stick to private cars.

He was speaking on a panel titled "Reshaping Transport and Energy Technologies" at the 25th WPC Energy Congress 2026, alongside Digital Cooperation Organization Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya, Bahri CEO Eng. Ahmed Ali Al-Subaey and Aldrees board member Mohammed Al-Omair.

Al-Rumaih said transport and logistics account for about 30% of global energy demand and that decarbonising the sector is a long-term journey requiring a range of technologies. The Kingdom, he stressed, is implementing concrete projects under the Saudi Green Initiative, which frames its net-zero target for 2060, including tests of a hydrogen-powered train in harsh environmental conditions, hydrogen trucks and electric vessels.

He described aviation and shipping as among the hardest sectors to decarbonise because they need integrated global distribution and storage infrastructure, and warned that relying on a single energy solution carries major risks and high costs. Diversification, he said, strengthens the resilience that has kept people and goods moving through the Kingdom's airports, ports, roads and railways despite crises in the region.

On public-private partnership, he said ports rely on build-operate-transfer (BOT) and long-term concession contracts, that Madinah airport was delivered as a PPP, and that Taif, Qassim and Abha airport projects have been tendered, with Abha at a very advanced award stage. Rail partnerships are being developed and intercity buses run under concessions, with opportunities open to local and international investors.