The yearly Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) will take place at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR’s) international conference centre, in Pretoria, from July 7 to 10.

The conference will cover all aspects of transport, including rail, and its theme is ‘Leading transportation into the future’.

“We will attempt to show delegates what has been achieved recently in various areas of transportation and how they can use this information and experience to ensure that their service delivery is up to standard.

“The SATC is the primary vehicle for sharing and communicating information on the research and implementation of transportation- related topics in Southern Africa,” says University of Pretoria civil engineering professor and SATC steering committee chairperson Wynand Steyn.

The event will cover a range of topics, including road-pavement materials, transportation and aviation solutions, and typical transportation engineering issues.

He notes that sponsorship and exhibition participation are similar to previous events, with up to 750 delegates being expected to attend the event.

“Although the contribution of sponsors is significant, we regard their presence more as a window into the industry for delegates, rather than just a source of income,” Steyn adds.

He notes that organising events such as the SATC present various challenges, such as ensuring that organisers manage to secure relevant papers and discussions, which assist attending delegates in improving service delivery to their clients.

“To ensure that the relevant stakeholders are aware of the SATC, the programme [has to be] relevant and topics [have to be] of interest and importance to the intended audience – which are mainly road and transportation engineers and professionals – [these are some of the] other challenges in organising this event,” Steyn adds.