INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT AND ROAD RESEARCH CONFERENCE 15TH TO 17TH MARCH, 2016
SAROVA WHITESANDS HOTEL, MOMBASA, KENYA
THEME: Transport Solutions to Transform lives: From research and innovation to uptake and implementation
Innitiative between KRB, MTRD and AFCAP
The Government of Kenya recognizes that an efficient transportation system is key to attracting investment into the region; improving competitiveness and promoting trade and is pleased to host the 1st International Conference on Transport and Road Research.
The Conference dubbed iTRARR Conference 2016 marks an important milestone for the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development as it explores ways to enhance the quality of our transport infrastructure. It is in recognition of the importance of research and innovations in providing transport solutions that the Ministry has hosted this conference themed “Transport Solutions to transform lives in the region: From Research & Innovation to uptake and implementation”
Transport services encompass roads, railways, civil aviation, maritime transport and ports, multi-modal transport, freight administration and management and play a key role in fostering trade relations. It is regrettable to note that intra Africa trade is very low currently less than 12%. Other challenges facing our region include poor quality and inadequate infrastructure, inefficient public transport systems, poor connectivity across various transport modes, which result in high transport costs thus lowering our competitiveness on the global arena.
The impact of transport infrastructure development and maintenance will be limited unless these programmes are continuously informed by research to ensure best practices and state of the art technologies are used to build and maintain better roads.
There is also the challenge of a huge funding gap to address maintenance and development backlog of infrastructure projects to support the growing population in the urban areas. Robust research should provide cost effective solutions to these problems.
The RMI (Road Maintenance Initiative) of the 1990’s contended that for many African countries money for road maintenance may not be the problem but rather the willingness of the political class and policy makers to prioritize road maintenance. It is common in our countries to allocate huge sums of money for development while funds for maintenance remain static if not reduced. Clearly there is need for researchers to advise implementers on a model we will use to get the buy in of politicians and other policy makers.
The diminishing availability of natural construction materials and the continually increasing demand for more and better roads in Sub-Saharan Africa calls for more research on optimal ways of utilizing the marginal resources available.
Sharing of knowledge on the challenges being faced in the transport sector will be key in formulating customized
solutions for each country in Sub-Sahara Africa. Thus, this Conference offers an invaluable opportunity for consultation and exchange of ideas, highlighting the major efforts that will lead to enhanced transport and road research.
There have been many important transport research projects funded by programmes such as the DFID (Africa Community Access Programme), SIDA, AfD, other donor agencies and national budgets that have been undertaken to advance the Africa-specific knowledge-base for the provision of road infrastructure and the associated transport services, especially in rural areas. However, the valuable knowledge generated from the various projects is fragmented and uncoordinated; and resides in different organizations (including donor agencies) in different countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
The results of such research ought to have been disseminated through a range of ways including manuals, application guidelines, conference papers and scientific journals. This calls for wider discussions on a number of technology transfer issues in the sector; as well as examining the wider issues of mainstreaming transport research effectiveness and uptake. Issues to be considered include:
- a) Ownership of research and the role of the user;
- b) Increasing use and access to electronic media;
- c) Feedback mechanisms and forums used, including the effectiveness of workshops, seminars and focus groups;
- d) Need for effective networking through linkages established by key technology transfer groups;
- e) Role of professional groups and the tertiary education system;
- f) Collaboration with academia, reputed research institutions and industry players;
- g) Role of international development partners such as DFID, AfD, World Bank etc.; and,
- h) Funding mechanisms and constraints.
Despite the obvious importance of transport both socially and economically to Sub-Saharan state’s economies, the source of research funds is meager and inconsistent.
The three days conference provides an opportunity for over 300 transport practitioners and researchers from various economies to discuss policy issues and best practices. To fastrack transport and sustain research, researchers should ensure effective dissemination and application of their results as widely as possible.
In conclusion, the resolutions made in this conference should not be in vain but be of assistance to our institutions and transport sector players to improve lives as the theme of the conference goes “Transport Solutions to Transform Lives: From Research and Innovation to Uptake and Implementation”.