The Kenyan government would 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 was to develop an action plan for sustainable transport in Africa, said World Bank transport economist Roger Gorham on Wednesday, speaking at the Southern African Transport Conference.
He defined sustainable transport as a system that allowed for a society’s health, safety and natural resources to remain intact over time, while it also provided accessible and affordable transport.
Gorham said motorisation was growing rapidly in Africa, along with carbon dioxide, other harmful emissions and vehicle accident rates.
Conversations around Africa’s transport system were often dominated by connectivity between countries and other continents, rather than sustainability, he added.
The Kenyan event was intended as a “high-level platform for policy dialogue” around sustainability.
In developing the proposed action plan for sustainable transport, the forum aimed 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 would act as multiyear programme with a Ministerial conference to be held every second year. The position of chairperson would be rotated.
In the end, the outcomes should include safer roads, accessible transport, improved air quality, improved health and reduced energy consumption, noted Gorham.
The key themes of the October event would be freight logistics, urban transport, sustainable fuel and vehicle systems, and road safety.
Topics within these themes would 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 would take place from October 28 to 30.