A complex junction has been constructed at the entrance to Casablanca on the motorway from Marrakech
Moroccan minister of Equipment and Transport talks about some of the key issues at stake during the upcoming IRF Regional Conference: North Africa & Mediterranean
The magic of Morocco will form an idyllic backdrop for one of the landmark events on this year’s IRF calendar: the major regional conference focusing on North Africa & the Mediterranean which is being hosted in Marrakech on 19-20 March.Abdelaziz Rabbah, the Moroccan minister of Equipment & Transport will set the tone by welcoming delegates to a special high-level segment, which will open the event in the presence of dignitaries and senior officials drawn from throughout the region. This will include keynote speeches by a number of distinguished personalities, including the resident representative of the African Development Bank, Amani Abou Zeid.
The occasion provided an opportunity to organise an exclusive interview with Rabbah. The following article has been adapted from some of his key responses, and a full transcript can be viewed on the World Highways and
The minister explained what importance he attached to the IRF initiative, and how in his view it could best support and bring added value to efforts to promote trade and efficient logistics between the countries of the region:
“IRF’s initiative … is both commendable and timely. Marrakech will offer an apt venue for open discussion and exchanges of views on the rational development and better use of transport systems that are of prime importance both regionally and internationally. … For road professionals, the Conference will offer a prominent and highly influential platform, enabling them to engage dialogue, exchange experiences and share their vision for a new generation of economically viable and sustainable road networks. It will provide a conducive high-level environment for addressing key questions such as financing mechanisms, the management and maintenance of networks, public-private partnerships and logistical issues to cite just a few examples from a rich and comprehensive agenda. … ”
The minister further underscored the key contribution the Conference could make towards highlighting the crucial role of modern road infrastructure and multimodal networks for stimulating progress and prosperity.
“… The positive impacts of investment in transport infrastructure on economic growth as well as on trade and wealth creation are beyond doubt. Morocco is well-placed to understand this importance given its position as a gateway to the East, linking Western and Oriental cultures, and at the crossroads of key routes joining North and South; Europe and Africa. The country is currently experiencing a significant rise in demand for goods and passenger services.
Admittedly, this has been attenuated somewhat over the past year as a consequence of weak European economic performance but, structurally, overall growth is likely to be maintained going forward, both nationally and throughout the immediate region. Indeed, even weak annual growth over a protracted period tends to result in intensified transport demand. This imposes capacity restraints on the network and the resulting need to identify ever more efficient transport systems.
(We) need to mobilise all the modern means of goods and passenger transport at our disposal in the most efficient manner possible. Moreover, a multimodal approach is called for in order to optimise gains in productivity and generally stimulate wealth and prosperity.”
Special interactive features of the Marrakech event will be the parallel workshops put together by the team at IRF Geneva, together with its partners
“In my opinion, ITS have not yet attained their full potential, so hold considerable promise for the future. Their deployment in traffic management helps make infrastructure and systems more efficient; so much so that it is, nowadays, virtually impossible to conceive certain systems of transport without them. Practically non-existent at the national level a few years ago, ITS have been the object of rapid development on Moroccan roads and motorways ….
Towns and cities are vital engines of growth, and mobility is intimately linked with the latter. Large urban areas are exposed to intense traffic flows, involving a wide range of transport modes. Extensive fleets of buses and taxis, lorries and vans all vie for space on increasingly clogged arteries. It is imperative to regulate and restore coherency to these various flows, and this can really only be successfully achieved by strongly encouraging the introduction of new technologies.
On a more general level, ITS help ensure better information for users, enhanced regulation of goods transport – particularly in towns – and reduced congestion along key transport corridors. Moreover, they enable us to optimise the performance of multimodal logistical chains ….
New technologies also carry a number of remarkable benefits in terms of fostering exchanges; for example, capacity to reach isolated rural zones and provide their populations with greater access to information and markets as well as facilitate communications with the rest of the country and beyond.”
This latter response provided a direct link to the minister’s longstanding commitment at the forefront of his country’s Justice & Development party. We asked how he felt IRF and its partners could best help ensure infrastructure development that is equitable and sustainable:
“Just as it is important to meet the infrastructure demands of heavy traffic corridors, so it is equally vital not to neglect the kind of local investment that is essential for ensuring rural development and social cohesion ….
We have in Morocco a programme that provides perfect illustration …. I refer to our National Rural Roads Programme, which I have decided to intensify with a view to attaining an 80% accessibility rate by 2015 …. The provision of roads has a major influence on rural development, which in turn constitutes an imperative of national development – one which must strongly engage all sectors of society so as to ensure balanced town and country planning; enhanced national cohesion through the narrowing of regional disparities; an improved socio-economic climate through stimulating employment and reducing poverty; the conservation of natural resources, and so on.”
Given that the programme for the Marrakech event features prominent, high-level sessions dedicated to road safety, the minister commented on Morocco’s commitment to the current UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, and how initiatives like the IRF Conference could help develop constructive links and partnerships with Governments and the wider international road safety community.
“Road safety is a priority for our Government – and reversing the current tragic trends … a national target. Our commitment is fully integrated with the Global Plan of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. At national level, an integrated strategic plan has been drawn up to address the urgent challenges. This has been buttressed by a strengthening of the appropriate institutional framework and the reinforcing of relevant legislation.… The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) was (officially) launched in the country … in June 2012.
The IRF Conference … will offer an excellent opportunity to share views and best practice experiences by reference to key global and regional initiatives. The presence in Marrakech of leading international players in the field can only enrich the quality of the debates and outcomes.”
In conclusion, the minister gave us his personal vision for the future of roads and mobility in North Africa and the Mediterranean, as well as the importance of regional collaboration in this respect.
“I am profoundly optimistic, and convinced that it won’t be long before interconnection between the various transport networks within the Mediterranean zone will be made for the greatest benefit of the populations concerned. The development of such an inter-regional backbone will enable important progress in the efficient transport of goods and passengers. It will guarantee the existence of efficient multimodal links between urban centres, key economic hubs, ports, airports and the main trans-border crossings. It will bring together and reinforce cohesion between regions. A policy of trans-border cooperation in the field of transport opens up huge development potential as it enables cost-effective mobility.
For several decades now, Morocco has been investing in high-capacity transport infrastructures. These have brought its various economic hubs closer to its frontiers, and to its key port complexes. These efforts will be continued into the future so as to ensure ever more rapid and integrated networks.”
