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organized for the benefit of executives of the State of Palestine and Jordan in Amman, Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan, on 4-5 April 2016.
2. TRANSPORT AND COMMMUNICATIONS
2.1. Transport and Communications WGs in 2016: Road Maintenance and Safety
Modern transportation systems increasingly rely on roads and road transportation. According to the
OECD ITF (International Transport Forum) Transport Outlook 2015, the growth in global surface
passenger transport to 2050 ranges from 120% to 230%, depending on future fuel prices and urban
transport policies. Furthermore, the growth in world surface freight volume to 2050 ranges from 230%
to 420%, depending on freight intensity of future GDP growth. Given its importance, the COMCEC
Transport and Communications Working Group (TCWG) has devoted its two consecutive meetings to
the road transportation.
During the 7th TCWG Meeting, which was held on March
24th , 2016 with the theme of “Enhancing Road
Maintenance in the OIC Member Countries ”, the
discussions specifically focused on the conceptual
framework of road maintenance, overview of the current
state of the road maintenance in the world and in the OIC,
as well as the challenges faced by Member Countries and
the policy recommendations to address them.
The research study specifically prepared for this meeting
highlighted the major setbacks related to road maintenance
practices in the OIC Member States;
 Lack of reliable and consistent data to support
planning and programming
 Poor condition of road networks in most OIC
countries
 Lagging behind international good practices
concerning institutional development and practices
in the road maintenance sector
 Poor governance in road maintenance.
 Inadequate funding of road maintenance
 Inadequate attention to the maintenance of rural road networks during the process of budget
planning.
In light of the main findings of the aforementioned research study and the deliberations during the
TCWG, the Working Group has come up with the following policy recommendations in order to address
the challenges faced by the MCs related to road maintenance and improving road maintenance services:
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 7th MEETING OF THE TCWG
 Developing a National Road Maintenance Strategy Based on Evidence and Data
 Ensuring the Allocation of Adequate and Sustainable Funding for Road Maintenance and
Increasing Effective Utilization of Available Road Funds through a Sound Legal Framework and
Institutional Structure
 Making Use of Performance-Based Contracts in Road Maintenance
 Establishing a Road Database Management System