OFFICIAL CLOSING CEREMONY
“Climate change and its effects inevitable…”
“Climate change and its effects on the environment are inevitable. Worst-case scenarios must be considered when designing and building road infrastructure to avoid severe damage to roads and highways due to floods and other disasters.”
The Director General of Public Works Department, Malaysia, the President of Road Engineering Association of Malaysia and Adviser to the Organising Committee Dato’ Seri Ir. Haji Mohamad Zulkefly bin Sulaiman (pic) highlighted the impacts as a result of climate change in his address when officially closing the 3-day conference and congress on 13 October 2022.
“Appropriate measurers can and should be taken to deal with it. At this conference and congress, I believe these impacts have been identified and critically analysed, and many ideas have been presented to reduce them and ensure that a sustainable and resilient road infrastructure can be provided.
“Climate change, increasing population, increasing road traffic, ageing road structures, and increasing maintenance and operating costs are significant challenges for the government in particular and the road engineers and highway planners in general.
“To achieve a sustainable and resilient road infrastructure, various innovative methods and materials are being used, such as seismic loads in the design of bridges in Malaysia and increasing the use of steel and steel products for bridges.
“Apart from that, the use of advanced transport, virtual reality and augmented reality applications in infrastructure engineering, smart road and pavement technology, and artificial intelligence to determine the maintenance required by the road pavement.
“Although innovative methods and new materials can be used to ensure that “resilient road infrastructure” can be provided, road engineers still need to involve themselves and collaborate with all stakeholders, such as government agencies and also the public, to ensure that the planning and design of road infrastructure are more holistic and resilient to the effects of climate change.”
Dato’ Seri Ir. Haji Mohamad Zulkefly concluded by extending his gratitude to all those who had worked tirelessly over many months towards the successful conclusion of the event.