Asia needs more roads than managing existing thoroughfares – ADB forum poll

Asia must come up with more roads rather than merely managing existing thoroughfares, participants in the Transport Forum 2016 revealed on Tuesday.

"We need to provide basic access – more of that to bring more poverty down," Jasper Cook, Infrastructure Research Manager at Africa Community Access Project and the Asia Community Access Project (AFCAP-ASCAP), said during the forum in Pasig City.

Results of a poll conducted during the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) biannual Transport Forum 2016: Sustainable Transport for All showed 54 percent of the participants would rather that new roads are built, while 46 percent prefer managing existing roads.

The majority sentiment was shared by Tran Thi Kim Dang, Professor and Deputy Leader at the University of Transport and Communications of Vietnam.

Asia needs to provide more access to the public by providing more roads, Dang noted. "Make it a sustainable investment with an appropriate design," she said.

"This is a long-term output which provides access to more people," she added.

Papua New Guinea Transport Secretary Roy Mumu said new roads must be on a par with a particular level of quality.

"There has to be a certain minimum standard so it can be sustained," he said, noting that roads are a major linkage between communities.

AFCAP-ASCAP's Cook noted the beneficial significance of building roads through the political will of the communities. "Looking at the community, have them as the owners of the road. Build on their local political will by building sustainable maintenance," he said. — VDS, GMA News