ABU DHABI — A series of key infrastructure improvements to transform the future of transport in Abu Dhabi will be outlined by the Department of Transport – Abu Dhabi (DoT) before a global audience at the World Road Congress Abu Dhabi 2019.
Thousands of road transport professionals will be offered an insight into how Abu Dhabi has built a world-class infrastructure as well as preparing for the future when the UAE capital hosts the World Road Congress (WRC) starting today until Oct. 10.
Khalifa Almazrouei, Undersecretary of Department of Transport, said: “The Department of Transport - Abu Dhabi has ambitious plans to build, operate and maintain an excellent quality of our infrastructure and introducing new modes of transport that it will make it easier than ever before to travel around the Emirate.
“As the host of the prestigious World Road Congress, being held in the Middle East for the first time this year, Abu Dhabi has a unique opportunity to showcase its future vision to the world and mark the UAE capital out as a world-leader in urban planning and infrastructure development.”
Under the theme of ‘Connecting Cultures, Enabling Economies’, the World Road Congress Abu Dhabi 2019 will be hosted by the DoT and World Road Association (PIARC).
Future projects, trends and developments in the fields of road building, infrastructure and transport will form the core of discussions at the World Road Congress, with global experts invited to take part in discussions and debates.
The 26th World Road Congress of PIARC is under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the theme of the PIARC Congress is “Connecting Cultures enabling economies”.
Building on the current momentum that sees road safety high on the global agenda, the IRF is hosting a foresight session on “Building Partnerships for Better Road Safety”. Scheduled tomorrow (Oct.7), the session will explore the importance of inter-agency collaboration and of multi-stakeholders’ partnerships and will provide concrete examples of the strength of partnerships and provide guidance on concrete steps to be undertaken to set up partnerships that deliver, especially in the case of LMICs. Multi-sector partnerships have great potential if efforts and resources are aligned with global goals.
The International Road Federation is also organizing with World Bank and International Transport Forum a second special session on "Transport is not Gender Neutral: From Increasing Mobility to Enhancing Employment in the Road Sector".
This second IRF Session is scheduled tomorrow afternoon and is organized under the leadership of the World Bank and in collaboration with the International Transport Forum. The session aims to showcase that transport and road infrastructure are not gender neutral and that the Road Sector has a key role designing and planning for roads that meaningfully address women’s mobility, which will be relevant for enhancing their accessibility to economic opportunities and services, whilst boosting development in general.
In this context, this event adopts a holistic approach towards “gendered” road transport and infrastructure and discusses three key issues. From the employment side it will portray what can be achieved in the road sector by having (gender) diversity in the workplace. From the user perspective it will highlight how (rural) transport infrastructure can be developed in a way to maximize social and economic gains to society through user centered methods for data collection that will inform road transport and infrastructure that properly address gender considerations. Lastly, the event will also discuss whether it is possible to develop and implement a universal (bidding and implementation) standards to address social risks during construction stage of infrastructure projects.
Contact IRF Secretariat for more info on these sessions at info[at]irfnet.ch and for more information about the PIARC 26th World Road Congress, click on the button “Event Website”. — SG
