With the Asia Pacific region projected to add 8 million kilometres of roads by 2030, with annual investments reaching $1 trillion for construction and maintenance, enhancing funding and safeguards for safer road infrastructure are critical.

Don’t miss our upcoming High-level Roundtable: Enhancing Funding for Safer Road Infrastructure at the Asia Pacific Road Safety Conference to be held 9-11 September at ADB Headquarters in Manila.

The Roundtable will convene leaders in road infrastructure development and financing in an interactive dialogue to explore the keys to success, opportunities and priorities for enhanced funding and action for safer roads.

What we know:

• Roads are the dominant transport mode in the Asia Pacific, accounting for more than 75% of all passenger and freight traffic.
• Road safety remains one of the most pressing public health emergencies across the region. Road crashes claim more than 1,700 lives a day at an estimated cost of US$3.7 billion.
• In the Asia Pacific region only 16% of roads (by length) meet the global 3-star or better road safety standard for pedestrians, 22% for bicyclists, 28% for motorcyclists, and 42% for vehicle occupants.
• Underfunding for road maintenance is a major challenge and the funding gap can be up to 80% in some countries.
• The problem is expected to escalate as road networks expand, and maintenance costs rise due to an aging road network, increasing traffic volumes and heavier loads, coupled with more extreme weather events.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set a target to halve road deaths and injuries globally by 2030 and safer, more sustainable, and resilient road infrastructure will be essential to achieving this.
• Achieving UN Target 4, for the majority of travel to be on 3-star or better roads in the region by 2030 stands to save over 210,000 lives a year, and nearly 158.5 million deaths and injuries over the 20 year life of road assets, with an economic benefit of $438.8 billion to the regional economy – a benefit of $11.90 for every $1 spent.
• It is estimated for every $1 spent on road maintenance, $1.50 in future rehabilitation costs can be saved. Well-maintained roads can also lower vehicle operation costs.
• Despite the compelling social, financial and economic investment case for road safety, progress in implementation is slower than it needs to be. The Saving Lives Through Private Investment in Road Safety Report (World Bank and IFC) estimates a $260 billion investment gap needed to halve global road deaths and injuries by 2030.
• In February, a new report was launched in support of the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, entitled Ensuring Roads are Upgraded and Lives Saved: The Keys to Implementation Success. The report, developed with a range of international development partners, outlines key factors for countries to ensure that roads are upgraded and lives saved. These include: strong leadership; well-formed policy and strategy; financial and technical capacity; evidence based tools and data; mobilization of existing and new finance that is optimised for safety; positive stakeholder engagement; monitoring and evaluation; and the celebration of safer roads and the saving of lives.

Join the Roundtable on Wednesday 10 September from 1.30 – 3pm to hear more, as we work together to shape the future of safer roads in the Asia-Pacific region.