Digitalisation of road infrastructure: delivering circular economy today. IRF Session at ITF Summit 2021

Infrastructure is an economic priority in many countries across the world. Increasingly complex projects are being commissioned to stimulate sluggish economies, upgrade old systems and cater for growing mobility needs of changing populations.

By contrast with other industries, which have successfully harnessed technological advances to improve and reshape their products and services, the infrastructure sector has not yet fully embraced the potential of the latest techniques and tools. Today’s infrastructure is not only aging—the approach to planning, design, and constructing is rapidly becoming out-of-date as well. With trillions-worth investments needed for existing and new infrastructure assets, the need to do things differently is critical.

Adopting and mainstreaming digitalisation and new technologies, such as advances in robotics and artificial intelligence, will be a game-changer for the industry. With the power of big data, cloud computing and analytics, Building Information Modelling (BIM), we can now better tackle and answer the questions that need to be answered to solve our world infrastructure challenge and most of it delivers a truly circular economy. The benefits of digitalisation are clear: projects can be delivered more effectively and efficiently.

Going forward the role of infrastructure planners, designers and contractors will fundamentally change. To be able to embrace new technologies as they emerge, countries around the world and lending institutions will need to have the proper processes and regulatory frameworks in place and infrastructure providers will need to ensure that they have the skills, knowledge and systems in place to build the associated infrastructure.

Organised by IRF, this session will contribute to the 2021 ITF Summit theme and debates by tackling the following questions:

1. How are digitalisation and new technologies poised to deliver resilient, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure that enables people to thrive and enhances circular economy while ensuring at the same a better-built environment?

2. How do capabilities and processes need to evolve or be changed to make infrastructure delivery systems more effective?

3. Which are the new business models that will drive change in the way we procure new infrastructure and drive companies to mainstream digital?

Speaking for you

Recordings now available

 All Summit resources will be also available on the 2021 Summit website as of 1 July 2021.