The new TCs and PIARC in Finland

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1 The new TCs and PIARC in Finland Fredrik Friberg, PIARC Central Office in Paris The new Technical Committees (TCs) now have active working groups, and most of the TCs have decided a date and a place for their first meeting and some also for their first seminar. Seminars contribute to more work at the PIARC office - as did PIARC s Executive committee meeting in June in Finland. The meeting was held in close connection with Via Nordica, and gave a more world wide participation to the congress, with PIARC president Colin Jordan as one of speakers in the opening session. PIARC had also an exhibition space at the congress, together with representatives from the World Winter Congress in Québec. This is my fourth report from the Central Office of PIARC about my tasks to the Nordic Road Association and the Nordic Road Administrations, and it contains information from May to July PIARC in Finland. From the Via Nordica exhibition. (up to the right). Up to the left: PIARC president Colin Jordan (Australia), Vice President Anne-Marie Leclerc (Canada-Québec), and the National Committees Friedrich Zotter (Austria). Down to the right: Two Swedish visitors at the exhibition: Per-Olof Wedin, Director, Vägverket Produktion and Lennart Axelson, NRA/NVF secretary in Sweden. Foreword from er utsände It has been more than ten months now since I commenced work as the Nordic secondee at PIARC s (World Road Association) General Secretariat (PIARC-GS) in Paris. I really enjoy the daily contact with people from all over the world, and I feel like a part of the PIARC-GS family. During the past weeks I have fully began to understand that there is an end to this, and that I only have half a year before I hand over to someone from Finland. Talking about Finland When I write this, Via Nordica is still only a month back in time. I would like to thank you organizers for a wonderful event (and of course for the Executive Committee which followed). One of my strongest memories is the closing session - a beautiful ceremony with hearty speeches and a lovely choir from Iceland. It made me feel proud to be Nordic, working with road issues. I have been invited to the NVF/NRA-utskott-kick-of-meeting in Reykjavik to make a brief presentation about PIARC, and together with the leading countries, I hope that together we can find ways to improve the exchange between PIARC committees and NVF/NRA. I am looking forward to meeting you there. 1

2 News in general Changes the General Secretariat There have been significant changes amongst the Technical Advisors recently: 1) Ms Michelle Baran (Austroads/Australia) has replaced Ms Leanne Grant. Michelle will assist in coordinating Theme C. 2) Mr. Masamitsu Waga, Japan has left PIARC after two years. We have met the new Technical Advisor, representing Japan, who starts in August, and we now wait for an official confirmation. 3) During the autumn Mr. Toussant Aguy (Africa/Ivory Coast) will finish his job, and at the moment it is unclear whether the corporation between AGEPAR and PIARC will continue. Ms Michelle Baran (Austroads/Australia) to the right has replaced Ms Leanne Grant (to the left), as technical advisor with a responsibility for Theme C. Executive Committee meeting in Helsinki what happened? In Helsinki, in June 2008, the Executive Committee (ExCom) had their last meeting before the combined Council/ExCom meeting in Marrakech, where a new ExCom will be selected. Our representative in ExCom, Jukka Hirvelä, opened the meeting with a presentation about Finnish Roads and the Finnish Road Administration. PIARC took the last step to finalise the Strategic Plan (now Draft 7 and 8) before Marrakech. New provisions were added, allowing more delegates in the Executive committee, and many details have been changed since the last ExCom meeting in Québec. The many proposed changes by the Technical Committees were also approved during the Helsinki meeting. The Technical Committee kick off meetings in April provided a forum for the TCs to discuss the Terms of Reference (ToR) that had been assigned to them in the Strategic Plan. The TCs were invited to Short facts about the PIARC office, me and my work The PIARC Central Office: The PIARC Central Office currently consists of thirteen staff members. Six of them are administrative staff working with publications, memberships, accounts, translation, and secretary work. Seven people are managerial staff and experts: the Secretary-General (Mr Jean-François Corté), the Deputy Secretary-General (Mr Franck Charmaison) and technical advisers representing Australia/New Zealand; Japan; Spain; and the Ivory Coast/Western Africa; and finally the Nordic countries through me. The administrative staff is paid by PIARC, the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General are employed and paid by the French Ministry of Transport, and the international representatives and I are paid by our respective countries/associations. Technical advisors. A short summary from where and when: 1. Japan (approx.). 2. The Nordic countries 1997 Jan Australia/New Zeeland 2003 Feb Spain (Spanish speaking countries) 2003 Mars Africa (through AGEPAR/Ivory Coast) 2007 Jan Oct. The secondment: I work at PIARC s (World Road Association) General Secretariat (PIARC-GS) in Paris according to an agreement between PIARC and NVF (Nordic Road Association). I am seconded here by the Swedish Road Administration until the 31 st of December I am coordinating Theme A, Sustainability of the Road Transport System, which includes the following Technical Committees: TC A.1 Sustainable Environment TC A.2 Financing, Managing and Contracting of Road System Investment; TC A.3 Road System Economics and Social Development; and TC A.4 Rural Road Systems and Accessibility to Rural Areas. I send out reports every third month. About me: Since 1999 I have been working at the Swedish Road Administration Vägverket Produktion, mainly with issues concerning technical development, focusing on construction and maintenance, road safety, sustainable development and ITS. 2

3 suggest amendments to the ToR where they saw it appropriate, as this would be the framework for their work programs over the coming four years. Following on from the meetings, the proposed changes were collected by the Technical Advisors for each strategic theme. In conjunction with the Secretary General, and together we made the suggested amendments to the Plan. These changes in particular were discussed at the meeting of the Strategic Planning Commission held the day before ExCom. At the Executive Committee meeting in Québec in February, several modifications also to the Statutes and Internal Rules were suggested. These items were approved by the Executive in Helsinki, and they will be put to the Council for formal approval in October. In Helsinki, the Secretary-General displayed a table demonstrating that now just a few technical reports were still outstanding from the Technical Committees from the cycle together with the seminars, these are the most important output from the former cycle. Progress reports updating the ExCom on the status of the Congress organisation were presented both for the Word Winter Congress in Québec 2010 and the World Congress in Mexico The day after the meeting we had a technical visit to the E18 Muurla-Lohja project, which is PPP financed through a life-cycle contract. The motorway opens this autumn and contains several tunnels, which is uncommon in Finland. The agreement period is valid for 24 years. It has been shown that the costs are lower than those incurred in a design and build contract, and furthermore the road will be available two years earlier than what would have been possible using the conventional methods. Technical visit together with ExCom to E18 Muurla-Lohja, PPP financed through a life-cycle contract. The motorway opens this year and contains several tunnels, which is uncommon in Finland. Photo taken through a bus window during the excursion. News concerning my tasks Planned TC activities One of the most important tasks is to be in regular contact with the TCs of my theme (A). I have checked that they have begun smoothly with created working groups, written minutes of the Paris meeting, and with date and location of second meeting decided, and finally if they have any progress of the contacts for the their first PIARC seminars. One problem for us here at the central office has been all late nomination of new TC members, and the technical advisors have provided the TC chairs with updated member lists. As mentioned in the last newsletter, one of my tasks has been to make survey from answers to a questionnaire to the first delegates in member countries, classified as developing countries and countries in transition, which I made on behalf of the Secretary General and CTED. The aim of the survey was to give a promising start and good distribution of the different events over the cycle. The answers have continued to come in, and now we have 47 proposals. Hosting a seminar appears to be an attractive prospect for many countries. 3

4 WIN and the website The IT system for administration of requests to the organisation - World Interchange Network (WIN) - is still in operation. It was created in 1995, and at least some of the years the operation has been a part of the responsibility for the Nordic Technical Advisor. During several years there has been a need to update information concerning the relays and specify the operation of the WIN. A high percentage of questions were left unanswered, although in general, the number of questions addressed remained modest. One of my tasks during the last months has been to send out letters to all forty countries within WIN (Finland is the only Nordic country). I have asked for updated internet addresses and for new lists of people to answer the requests submitted to the relay. It seems that the people have often changed their role, and others may have simply forgotten how they were to handle the answers. Many new technical reports are now available the output from the former committees. Two examples are reports on urban congestion and freight transports. Still a few reports are only published as drafts at the web site space of the relevant new committee. Freight transports and Urban congestion during an excursion in St Petersburg with surroundings in June Publications Many of the technical reports from the last cycle have, as mentioned previously, have now been published. On behalf of the Secretary General I have been involved in proofreading and editing some suggested papers for publication in Routes/Roads. The May edition had an article concerning Road Safety by Lars Ekman. In the next edition of Routes/Roads will be a special edition with articles in Spanish as well as the usual French and English versions. Other Business During my stay here several Nordic associations and companies have asked me for assistance, when they plan study trips (e.g. to France and Portugal). It is quite easy to help from here. There seems to be demand for useful contacts in foreign countries, and the PIARC network is a good tool to use. After the Executive committee in Helsinki, the Finnish Road Administration helped parts of the Executive committee as well as parts of staff of the General Secretariat to arrange a private weekend in St Petersburg. The days were an excellent opportunity to get to know the PIARC people better. During some hectic days we were fully booked with visits to many tourist attractions. The trip ended up with a visit to Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex (Saint Petersburg Dam) in the Finnish Gulf. This is a 25-kilometre complex of dams for flood control, but is also used to 4

5 After the ExCom meeting, Finland arranged a trip to St Petersburg for ExCom and people at the PIARC secretariat. The trip was a great opportunity to make friends, and it ended with a road excursion to St Petersburg protection dam. On the photo to the left: The group at Tsarskoye Selo. To the right are Jukka Torniainen and Raimo Taipo from the Finnish Road administration. Among others you find Carlo Mariotta (Switzerland; Chair for the Finance commission), Prof. Gheorghe Lucaci (Romania; Excom), Keiichi Inoue (Japan; ExCom and East Nippon Expressway Company), and Annette Pass (UK; Strategic planning commission). 17 of June Below: St Petersburg protection dam, dividing the last part of the Finnish gulf into two pieces. complete a ring road around St Petersburg. The project is due for completion this year. Environmentalists have raised concerns and staged demonstrations during construction of the dam. The main concerns relate to water quality in the Finnish gulf and Baltic Sea as whole. Important issues and work during the coming months Update the website of PIARC including the WIN system. Kick off meeting for the new committees (utskott) within NVF on Iceland in September. Assist in the preparation for the Council meeting in Marrakech, Morocco Oct The Council will select a new Executive Committee and new Commissions. And preparation of the first seminars of the four year cycle during the autumn. First is Managing and Contracting of Road System Investment (A.2) in Burkina Faso in December. (Correction from the previous report: The A.4 meeting in Mexico in October is considered to be a work shop, not a seminar). Contact information Fredrik Friberg ; La Grande Arche Paroi Nord Niveau 5 ; La Défense Cedex; FRANCE Tel : ; Cell : ; Fax : ; fredrik.friberg@vv.se; fredrik.friberg@piarc.org ; Web: Ha en fortsatt skön sommar, önskar Fredrik Friberg från La Défense den 7 juli