Skip to main content

IRF launches global road diagnostic initiative

Transportation decision-makers will soon benefit from a new comparative study on the cost-effectiveness of road programme delivery. This will be thanks to the launch of a global benchmarking initiative by the International Road Federation using a methodology developed by McKinsey & Co. Globally, US$1.4 trillion is invested every year on transportation assets — including $700 billion for roads - as the world’s economies develop and respond to emerging mobility patterns. Delivering these road programmes
March 8, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The IRF Global Road Benchmarking Survey was launched in Riyadh on December 15th 2015 as part of the 4th IRF Middle East Regional Congress
RSSTransportation decision-makers will soon benefit from a new comparative study on the cost-effectiveness of road programme delivery. This will be thanks to the launch of a global benchmarking initiative by the International Road Federation using a methodology developed by McKinsey & Co.  

Globally, US$1.4 trillion is invested every year on transportation assets — including $700 billion for roads - as the world’s economies develop and respond to emerging mobility patterns. Delivering these road programmes is a task fraught with challenges which too often lead to inefficient use of scarce funds.

In 2013, a landmark report published by McKinsey’s Infrastructure Practice presented stark evidence of the size of the infrastructure gap and the resulting need for governments to rethink how they select, design, deliver and manage infrastructure projects.

Building on the methodology developed in this report, the International Road Federation is announcing a global benchmarking initiative to promote transparency through an objective diagnosis and evaluation of current practices worldwide.

According to Nicklas Garemo, senior partner at McKinsey, "There are large opportunities to improve efficiency in road investments and maintenance across the globe which would give the world more and better roads for the available funds. The first step to improve requires understanding where you stand and how you compare to best practice. This survey creates that understanding and allows countries to be more targeted in their future improvement efforts."

“As the sector’s chief knowledge broker, the 3918 IRF Washington knows that boosting productivity is a key priority for all local and national governments,” said IRF president & CEO C Patrick Sankey. “The survey and resulting recommendations will provide game-changing insights for decision-makers across our industry.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • IRF members partner on asphalt pavement engineering research
    October 16, 2020
    Arizona State University’s Schools of Engineering and FORTA Corporation, a Pennsylvania-based leader in the synthetic reinforcement fibres industry have announced a partnership to support further research into the resilience of pavements.
  • Vision Zero for the Balkans: IRF road safety conference
    August 31, 2022
    A landmark regional road safety conference convened by the International Road Federation (IRF) and the Bulgarian Branch Association Road Safety (BBARS) on June 1-2 2022 concluded with renewed calls for cross-border collaboration, institutional capacity strengthening, and investments in life-saving innovations to tackle the road traffic injury crisis that is responsible for 6,500 deaths annually in the region.
  • UN sets global target for road safety
    October 21, 2015
    The UN has set a global benchmark for reducing traffic fatalities on the world’s road network. Data shows that every year, almost 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes around the globe, according to information gathered by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In a bid to tackle this major problem, world leaders recently vowed to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020. This target was agreed at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York.
  • IRF and Qatar University partner for safer roads
    January 30, 2017
    The International Road Federation and the Qatar Transportation and Traffic Safety Centre (QTTSC) at Qatar University have partnered to deliver a series of Road Safety Training programmes taking place between now and April 2017 These courses have been carefully selected to reflect the specific traffic safety challenges of Qatar and other fast-motorising nations in the Middle East and North Africa. At the end of the cycle, participants will have an advanced understanding of the different diagnosis tools an