ADB urges gov’t to invest in transport sector

The Asian Development Bank has urged emerging economies in the region, including the Philippines, to invest more in transportation development to cope with rising urbanization and catch up with rising economic activities in key cities.

According to the ADB, existing transport systems must be improved to address problems like traffic congestion, environmental degradation, adverse impact on health and foregone incomes that normally come along with failure of transport systems to develop commensurately with growing economies.

“In many Asian cities, rapid urbanization has been accompanied by rapid motorization, which has led to increased congestion, carbon emissions, pollution, health and social problems and lost economic opportunities,” said Bindu Lohani, ADB vice president for knowledge management and sustainable development.

In the book “Changing Course in Urban Transport,” a joint publication of the ADB and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the need for improved urban planning, better traffic management, low-emission vehicles and road systems in many Asian cities was stressed.

GIZ is an organization that provides technical expertise in sustainable development.

“With sustainable transport systems, cities can regain their competitive edge, minimize their environmental impacts and become more attractive places to live and work,” Lohani said.

In the case of the Philippines, urbanization has been one of the major problems that come together with its economic growth, which is highly concentrated in urban cities.

Of the country’s estimated 94 million people, about 20 million are believed to be residing in Metro Manila, making the area highly congested.

The congestion in Metro Manila is also blamed for the significant pollution in the area vis-a-vis other parts of the country.

“Cities in Asia should transform their transport systems to provide growing urban populations with greater mobility while ensuring a healthy and attractive urban environment,” ADB said in a statement.

Besides developing the transport systems, spreading out economic activities is a common suggestion for emerging markets like the Philippines to address the problem of urbanization.

Economists said development must be spread out across geographic areas so that people would no longer have to migrate to urban areas just to find jobs.—Michelle V. Remo