The page one lead story for some reason completely fails to mention that Alstom holds the contract for Dubai's Al Sufouh tramline. The contract, awarded by the RTA to the ABS consortium, is worth over $500 million, with Alstom claiming some $280 million of that value in the partnership with felow consortium members Besix and Serco (who, respectively, put the BS into ABS). In fact, it's one of a number of significant contracts that Alstom has won in Dubai and the Middle East region as a whole - Alstom is a major player in power generation, too.
The Dubai contract for the Citadis railway system is actually significant as it will trial a new air-conditioning system on platforms for the first time. Citadis has been installed in over 28 cities around the world, according to the company.
Gulf News merely mentions that the company is 'eyeing' business in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. And yet the Alstom contract award, made in April 2008, is the first result you get by googling 'Alstom transport Dubai'.
How strange, is it not, that Gulf News' journalists missed that fact when researching such an important story?
(By the way, Alstom itself makes no secret of its work in Israel - in presentations such as this one, the company cites its work in Jerusalem as a case study. Like many other corporate companies around the world, Alstom works globally including projects in the Arab World and Israel. We do all know that hundreds, if not thousands, of corporates do this, don't we?)
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6 comments:
It is interesting tat a journalist would not tell the whole story but then again, it is all propaganda anyway.
Gimme A Dream from Twitter
No worries for Alstom. Any objections from the PLO and PA are automatically disqualified due to stupidity.
this is epic.
but I'm glad someone still considers employing a company that works in Israel a shameful act.
Strange that 'journalists' missed facts when researching...?
Not strange but sadly par for the course Alex.
I'm not convinced that research is part of the process with most of the stuff published - and not just here.
I agree with Seabee too, research is the least important in what gets published in this part of the world first comes how is it dectated and then the rest, also the source of the news makes the news peace.
think of who owns gulf news and think of who runs the RTA.
bringing up the saudi issue on the front page could be a veiled way of sending a message locally.
learn to read between the lines. same goes for the editorial - though it read like it was written by a child
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