The Prime Minister- Dr. Abdulaziz Saleh bin Habtoor, affirmed that the country's leadership and its various institutions support every effort made in the service of development and are keen to grant investors the facilities designated for them in implementing their projects in the various promising sectors.

This came during his participation on 16th January 2024 in the third session of the investment forum held by the Investment General Authority, which was devoted to reviewing the promising investment opportunities in the maritime, land and air transport sector, and the quality of the projects currently available with identification of their locations and economic feasibility.

In his response to the inquiries raised by the Chairman of the General Investment Authority- Yasser Al-Mansour, who ran the forum discussions, the Prime Minister stated that the transport sector is one of the vital sectors and the engine of the economic cycle and lifeline, and therefore the importance of investing in it increases in order for it to be a helper for the development work in general.

He also pointed out that the directives of the President of the Supreme Political Council require that everyone turn to development work, especially in the current conditions that Yemen is going through in light of the aggression and siege, with the presence of many obstacles to the development process, in the forefront of which is the continued closure of Hodeidah seaport and Sana'a airport.

He said: "The government is aware of the types of challenges and problems faced by investors, and therefore works to provide natural climates that should be present to serve the investment process."

He also added: "The General Authority for Investment is making a good effort and is carrying out a number of activities that are trying to provide clear investment opportunities to investors." He pointed out that the government has a clear tendency to work jointly with the private sector and consolidate aspects of partnership with it as the backup in achieving development in light of these conditions, including: The work to address bureaucratic problems.

The Prime Minister stated that among the problems faced by the investor is the incorrect interpretation of the text by some employees and sometimes the effort to create more complications rather than facilitating and simplifying procedures, which contradicts the state's tendency to facilitate and simplify procedures.

He also pointed out the importance of all the employees to understand the importance of the private sector and the need to provide the necessary facilities for it.

In the context of his response to inquiries, he condemned the decision of the government loyal to the aggressors to raise the price of the customs dollar in the ports under the occupation, primarily the seaports of Aden and Mukalla, to 750 riyals, and its disastrous repercussions on the citizen.

He expressed his thanks to the Authority for organizing this activity, which allows the government and its competent agencies to have a face-to-face dialogue with the private sector and the opportunity to learn about their problems and to lift any grievances that may fall upon them by relying on the investment law that regulates the relations of the two parties.

Dr. Bin Habtoor concluded his views by emphasizing the government's readiness to deal responsibly with and discuss the outcomes of the sessions of the Investment Forum, and to raise any procedures that need to be submitted to the higher authorities.

For his part, Minister of Transport- Abdel-Wahhab Al-Durra affirmed that the development of the transport sector using modern methods is a major goal for the ministry, by issuing a decision to establish a general department for investment in the ministry and its affiliated authorities to coordinate with the Investment Authority and the private sector to implement joint projects in the fields of transport,i.e. land, sea and air ports.

He also referred to the state's tendencies to strengthen the partnership between the public and private sectors to enter into investments in the transportation sector, regulated by regulations, rules and laws to ensure the interest of all and provide service to the citizen.

The Minister of Transport called on the United Nations to put pressure on the aggression's countries to quickly open the seaports and airports without restriction or condition, as well as to fully open the roads to facilitate the movement of citizens and commercial transport.

He also mentioned that among the most important investment opportunities that were presented at the forum was the project to expand the sea dock in the Salif seaport with the BOT system which its cost is $300 million US dollars, in addition to the implementation of a tunnel on the Sana’a-Hodeidah road, specifically in Manakhah district, to shorten the distance from 18 kilometers to 4 kilometers. meters, in addition to many opportunities such as dry ports in Sana'a and Dhamar, multi-storey parking lots in the capital's secretariat, and ground handling services at the airports.

The Minister Al-Durra praised the volume of participation in the forum's work by the private sector, businessmen, investors, and representatives of the concerned authorities. He stressed on the need to expand the construction of roads due to the expansion of commercial and economic movement, especially the highway project "Amran - Sana'a - Taiz - Aden" and others roads to be constructed in the future.

While the representative of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce- Mohammed Abdo Saeed, via Zoom technology, and businessman Mohammed Al-Jarash from Djibouti, discussed the problems facing the investors in the land, sea and air transport sector, foremost of which is the general situation of infrastructure.

They pointed out that the process of investing in infrastructure in the transportation sector is very expensive, and there are priorities that must be resolved first, in addition to carrying out a real study and evaluation on the general situation of the sector's infrastructure, and the need for urgent maintenance of the destroyed roads.

They also stressed on the importance of adopting a national strategy for the reconstruction of infrastructure, encouraging the private sector to provide auxiliary services to the transport sector, rehabilitating the national contracting sector, adopting economic reforms and providing the necessary facilities for the unhindered delivery of goods and commodities.

While the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in the Capital Sana’a- Hassan Al-Kbous, the member of the Board of Directors of the Saba Marine Navigation Corporation- Abdullah Al-Sharafi, and the representative of the Chamber of Shipping- Omar Al-Malahi, reviewed the difficulties faced by the private sector in transporting goods and their impact on the rise in prices of goods and services.

They also stressed on the importance of concerted official, societal and international efforts to put pressure on the United Nations to open sea, land and air ports and ports, foremost of which is the seaport of Hodeidah to receive goods and commercial goods through agents of international shipping and shipping companies, in a way that contributes to reducing transportation fees.

They pointed to the risks and losses incurred by the commercial sector during importing through the seaport of Aden and transporting goods by land through areas and long routes that negatively affect the consumer, pointing out that the cost of transportation fees ranges between 25 to 40 billion riyals per month.

The forum, which was attended by the Secretary-General of the Presidency of the Republic- Hassan Sharaf Al-Din, the Chairman of the Land Transport Regulatory Authority- Walid Al-Wadaei, and the Deputy Chairman of the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority- Raed Jabal, included point of views by the representatives of the concerned authorities, offices and the private sector, calling for the need to activate the Land Transport Corporation, organize the work of containers, and improve the general situation of land, sea and air transport.

In the meantime, the forum reviewed the available investment opportunities in the transportation sector, foremost of which is the establishment of a dry port at the western entrance to the capital in Al-Masajid area, and another at the southern entrance to the capital in Qaa Al-Qaidi area, the project for providing services and ground handling services at Sana’a Airport, rehabilitating and developing the airport's lounges, and expanding the civil aviation club.

The offered investment opportunities included the construction of a heavy transport truck stop in Al Hudaydah Governorate, a multi-storey parking lot in the Tahrir area, another one in Bab Al Yemen, a starting and arrival station for mass transit buses in the capital Sana’a, a logistics station on intercity road networks in Dhamar Governorate, and an internal mass transport company between governorates, an international mass transport company in the capital Sana’a, and a seaport in the Salif seaport.