Kenya to host Africa Sustainable Transport Forum in October

25th July 2014

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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The Kenyan government will in October host the Africa Sustainable Transport Forum, funded by, among other parties, the United Nations and the World Bank.

The aim of the conference is to develop an action plan for sustainable transport in Africa, says World Bank transport economist Roger Gorham.

He defines sustainable transport as a system that allows for a society’s health, safety and natural resources to remain intact over time, while it also provides accessible and affordable transport.

Gorham says motorisation is growing rapidly in Africa, along with carbon dioxide, other harmful emissions and vehicle accident rates.

Conversations around Africa’s transport system are often dominated by connectivity between countries and other continents, rather than sustainability, he adds.

The Kenyan event is intended as a “high-level platform for policy dialogue” around sustainability.

In developing the proposed action plan for sustainable transport, the forum aims to facilitate access to funding, build on existing initiatives in Africa, and ensure policy dialogue.

Development banks around the globe in 2012 promised to make available $175-billion to sustainable transport up to 2022.

The forum will act as a multiyear programme with a Ministerial conference to be held every second year. The position of chairperson will be rotated.

In the end, the outcomes should include safer roads, accessible transport, improved air quality, improved health and reduced energy consumption, notes Gorham.

The key themes of the October event will be freight logistics, urban transport, sustainable fuel and vehicle systems, and road safety.

Topics within these themes will include facilitating a shift to public transport, improving the quality of vehicles on the road, optimising railways, improving truck maintenance, and the fuel economy of vehicles used in Africa.

The conference will take place from October 28 to 30.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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