and traffic management was organised in coordination with the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok for a group of road engineers from the Democratic People ’ s Republic of Korea ( January and February 2014 ).
The 4th Session of the Committee on Transport , which was held in Bangkok from October 15-17 2014 , recognized the work of ESCAP in promoting increased levels of road safety across the region within the framework of the Decade of Action for Road Safety ( 2011-2020 ). The Committee noted that programme of work of ESCAP endeavoured to address road safety across a broad range of issues , including , among them :
( a ) improvement and enforcement of laws and regulations ;
( b ) introduction of safety measures for vulnerable road users ; ( c ) expansion of safe infrastructure ; and ( d ) the introduction of intelligent transport system to enhance safety through better traffic management . It further noted that member States had set national road safety goals and targets to reduce road traffic fatalities and improve road safety .
In December 2013 , the secretariat in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Europe ( ECE ), the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway of India and the Institute of Road Traffic Education jointly organised the first Europe-Asia Road Safety Forum , in India . The Forum extended opportunities for road safety professionals from 35 countries from Asia and Europe to share knowledge and experiences .
In co-operation with the Korean Transportation Safety Authority , the secretariat published a study on best practices for road safety in Sri Lanka in 2014 . The secretariat continued to work with the Korean Transportation Safety Authority in 2015 in a joint project on black spot improvement and recommendations .
Member States have already developed , or are in the process of developing their national policy documents and periodic action plans on road safety . Additionally , they may wish to consider strengthening their national initiatives through allocation of dedicated funds for implementation of their holistic plans on road safety , in order to achieve the global and regional goals , and targets on road safety .
Financing Road Infrastructure Development
Intra-regional trade in Asia and the Pacific is growing , not only in terms of absolute volume but also in terms of diversity of products , stage of processing and geographic scope . To sustain this growth , Governments must invest in transport infrastructure and create an enabling environment for the growth of transport services . It was estimated in a 2009 joint study of the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute that transport infrastructure investment needs for the Asia-Pacific region would be in the order of US $ 2.9 trillion for the period 2010 and 2020 . The Jakarta Declaration adopted by the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Development in Asia and the Pacific , which was held in Jakarta from April 14-17 , 2010 , emphasized the need to apply innovative financing options for regional infrastructure development and maintenance .
Several meetings were organised by ESCAP to promote the exchange of experiences and information on public-private partnerships at the regional level and to assist members and associate members in meeting infrastructure development challenges .
During the process of developing and upgrading Asian Highway routes , national highways and other roads , it may also be necessary to consider promoting investments for the Asian Highway network as a priority ; exploring various sources and forms of funding , such as public-private partnerships and other innovative financing mechanisms ; ensuring the effective maintenance of Asian Highway routes and other highways through regular and periodic maintenance planning ; and the establishment of road funds / boards .
Member States may wish to share their experiences and challenges in financing Asian Highway development .
Development of Dry Ports
In using the Asian Highway and Trans-Asian Railway networks as two major building blocks , the
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