Sir Graham Boyce, Chairman of Invensys Rail's Middle East Advisory Board, said the company is looking for talks with potential project developers.

The company estimates there could be about US$600 billion worth of projects across the Middle East and North Africa in the next decade.

Control systems, signals and communication equipment account for about five percent of a rail project's value.

A consortium led by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is building a AED15.5-billion urban rail network. Dubai plans to expand it further with new investment of billions of dirhams. The Abu Dhabi government is also working on a master plan for a transportation system. Saudi Arabia is planning a big rail project to connect the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

Invensys is also eyeing potential projects in Kuwait and Egypt.