TF2020

Morning Session
Monday 24 August
Tuesday 25 August	Sustaining Road Infrastructure Quality in Asia and the Pacific: Challenges and Opportunities 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Road networks are the single largest assets in most countries and provide a fundamental foundation for the performance of national economies. Adequately investing in road network development, maintenance and operations is essential to preserve and enhance their benefits. This session will highlight some of the key challenges of sustaining the quality of road infrastructure, feature the latest findings of the Research for Community Access Partnership program on rural access, discuss lessons from a global review of performance based road contracts; and share technologies that can be used to monitor and manage the performance of ageing road infrastructure while minimizing disruption to transport services.
Wednesday 26 August	Emerging Stronger: Upstream Actions for Environmental, Climate Change and Disaster Resilience in Transport Infrastructure 10 a.m. – 11:30 am. Severe damage and disruption to transport networks in recent decades has highlighted the importance of ensuring systems are environmentally sound, and resilient to the impacts of disasters and climate change. Instead of tackling these challenges at a project level, more transformative changes can be brought about through upstream actions ranging from strategic planning, risk and resilience assessments, to capacity development. This session will share international best practice examples of upstream actions to create an enabling environment to enhance environmental, climate change and disaster resilience in transport infrastructure.
Thursday 27 August	Taking-off During the COVID Storm: Challenges in Re-opening International Aviation in the Asia Pacific Region 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought international air travel to an unprecedented halt. Around the world, we see grounded planes and empty terminals. Following the rebound of domestic flights, international borders will gradually re-open. Countries are seeking to balance the economic recovery with the increased risk for subsequent waves of infection. This session will highlight the key challenges faced by ADB’s Developing Member Countries and provides a platform aiming to form a coordinated and harmonized approach among all stakeholders.
Friday 28 August

Afternoon Session
Monday 24 August	High Level Panel: Transport in Developing Asia’s New Normal 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. The pandemic has created unprecedented conditions for the transport sector, forcing widespread adaptations and challenging long held beliefs and ways of operation. But the core needs of developing countries for transport and mobility are still there, and the difficulty in meeting these needs in the post-pandemic is being felt throughout Asia. This panel discussion will have some of the region’s leading thinkers discussing transport’s future in a deeply changed world.
Tuesday 25 August	Re-Imagining the Future of Transport Through Futures and Foresight Research 2 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Why do we need to think differently about the future of transport? Long held beliefs and assumptions on transport were upended by the pandemic, and the future in the new normal is deeply uncertain. But there are tools - futures thinkings and strategic foresight - which can help transport be better prepared for the times ahead. This session will introduce these concepts and how they are being applied to create future-ready transport projects.
Wednesday 26 August	First Workshop on the Implementation of the Asia Pacific Road Safety Observatory 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (by invitation only) The establishment of the of the Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO) was announced at the 3rd Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm Sweden in February, following two preparatory workshops in Singapore (March 2019) and Bangkok (December 2019). APRSO was established by a group of international development organizations – The World Bank, Fédération Internationale de l’ Automobile (FIA), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Transport Forum (ITF) and The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UK Aid through the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF). ADB serves as the secretariat for APRSO. This meeting will seek country support/ endorsement on the implementation of APRSO.
Thursday 27 August	Enhancing the Role of Big Data in Promoting Sustainable Development of Transport Systems 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ADB is developing the Asian Transport Outlook report on transport infrastructure, operations and policies in Asia and the Pacific, to assess how well aligned policies and investments are with relevant international transport targets under the SDGs and the Paris Agreement as well as in areas such as quality infrastructure. Concurrently, there are opportunities for big data analytics to play an increasingly important role in guiding DMCs in their approach to transport system management and operations. This session will share how countries are using digital data to create smarter transport systems that are more efficient. resilient, and environmentally sustainable.
Friday 28 August	Closing Plenary – Future Directions for Transport in Developing Asia 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. The transport sector is at an important intersection. The uptake of technology and application of large data can play pivotal role in system improvements and efficiency gains. As the world opens up from various lockdown measures the future of mobility and demand for travel will undoubtedly be different from the pre-COVID-19 pandemic travel patterns. How can the uptake of new technologies see an improvement to transport systems and services and will the COVID-19 experiences allow for an acceleration in uptake of new technologies and operational practices?