Transport Thematic Group event
Road transport is and will remain the main transport mode in most – if not all – countries for the foreseeable future. While a more reasonable and organized use of cars and trucks is certainly desirable, road infrastructures are the basic links between people within cities and regions, being the only alternative to access services, goods and jobs for many people. Road infrastructures are also one of the highest – if not the highest – public asset immobilized in most countries, built upon generations. In that context, improving the way this capital asset is managed is essential: in most countries, road infrastructures are at best sparsely managed with a focus on construction while maintenance is generally overlooked. Road asset management starts with good maintenance practices that can contribute to lower substantially the overall cost of managing the road network on a life cycle basis and increase its sustainability and resilience. In turn, this contributes to reduce the cost to operating vehicles and, more broadly, logistics costs, directly contributing to the countries’ competitiveness agenda.
For the past 30 years, a renewed approach to road management has been tested in various countries, often with success, transferring part of the responsibility of the asset management to the private sector, in the form of pluri-annual performance-based contracts paid upon achievement of pre-determined results. Those contracts have demonstrated improving road overall conditions at a fraction of the cost. Experiences worldwide continue confirming the relevance of the approach. Improvement in Public Private Partnership (PPP) regulatory framework and institutional capacity in many countries offer an avenue to more broadly tap on this contractual modality further compounding efficiency gains with contracts of a longer duration and with the mobilization of private capital.
To present and discuss the current state of the topic and those more recent strategies and approaches, on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 12 noon, we are very fortunate to have (a) Mr. Eric Lancelot, Lead Transport Specialist at the World Bank Transport Unit of the Latin American and Caribbean Region, and Global Lead of the Safe and Resilient Infrastructure Knowledge Group at the World Bank Transport Global Practice; and (b) Mr. Magid Elabyad, Executive Vice-President of the International Road Federation (IRF).
Mr. Eric Lancelot, a French national, joined the World Bank in 2005 and has held various positions as Transport Specialist for Latin America and Europe before joining West Africa as Program Leader of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development between 2015 and 2019, then Central America between 2019 and 2023. He has transport engineer and transport economics degrees from the Ecole National des Travaux Publics de L’Etat and the Universite Paris/Sorbonne, both in France.
Mr. Magid Elabyad, an Egyptian and US national, Mr. Elabyad, is currently the Executive Vice President of the International Road Federation (IRF) based in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. He joined the IRF in December 2004 and was appointed Vice President in November 2023, after holding various positions such as the Director of Global Training Programs. He specializes in national and international transportation and construction industry issues, focusing primarily on Road Asset Management and Road Financing. Mr. Elabyad holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Ohio, awarded in 2015, and a bachelor’s degree in business from George Mason University, awarded in 2001.
Moderator: Cesar Queiroz, Transport TG
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In person (MC 3 – 850)
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