Planning of National Transport Infrastructure
In the Islamic Countries
7
importance of transport infrastructure development should not be underestimated and better
planning is naturally the first step to achieve the Goal.
The focus of this research is on the planning of National Transport Infrastructure (NTI) and the
plans that are commonly used such as national development plans, national infrastructure plans,
national transportation plans, investment plans and programs, regional transportation plans
and white papers. There exists a large variety of the planning practices and procedures of the
nations with respect to the NTI. The underlying reasons behind this variety are many. The
different institutional and legal frameworks can be one reason. The availability of necessary
financial resources can also lead to different planning behaviours. The geographical (or the
topographical) and urbanization characteristics of the countries may also stimulate to prioritize
one transport mode over others. Moreover socio economic changes in many OIC countries
including the economic diversifications and the need for greater social inclusivity compel the
countries to plan the transport infrastructure differently. Despite such deviations in planning
practices, there should be some common principles regarding the planning of NTI, which will
lead to successful outcomes.
1.2. Scope of Work
The Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) has clearly recognized the above mentioned issues. Therefore
the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO) conducted a research on “Planning of National Transport
Infrastructure in OIC Member States” with the following objectives:
1. To identify the basic concepts and steps of the planning of NTI and factors affecting their
success.
2. To investigate the major and successful planning practices regarding NTI (outside the
OIC geography).
3. To describe the general situation related to the planning of NTI in the OIC Member States
and to analyse the NTI planning practices and experiences of the six selected OIC
Member Countries as case studies in detail.
4. To propose recommendations for enhancing better planning practices for NTI among
the OIC Member States.
The ultimate aim of the study is to establish a conceptual foundation for the planning procedure
of NTI in the OIC Member States. The study is also expected to draw attention to the NTI planning
implementations among the OIC Member Countries as well as to trigger a serious debate around
the issues identified and how to better address them.
1.3. Background to Work Undertaken
A literature review, including desk research of planning procedure of NTI in both OIC and non-
OIC regions has been undertaken that examined not only problems and challenges but also
success factors with regard to NTI planning. The literature review and the case studies are
structured in seven framework areas as outlined i