Sharing the draft strategy for the country, they also emphasised on enhancing sustainability of road freight transport, digitalising and decarbonising Bangladesh Railways, strengthening inland water transport as well as reducing transport logistics cost in the country.
Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges of Bangladesh and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific jointly organised the virtual workshop to discuss on the draft strategy placed by the UNESCAP during the consultation on Wednesday, according to a press release.
Chief of the UN ESCAP's Transport Connectivity and Logistics Section of the Transport Division, Azhar Jaimurzina Ducrest, attended it while Joint Secretary Anisur Rahman and ESCAP official Mr Sandeep Raj Jain discussed.
Representatives from the Ministry of Transport of China, Asian Institute of Transport Development (AITD), representative from CINEC campus, the President of the Infrastructure Economic Centre based in Paris also shared their views.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Road Transport and Bangladesh Railway and relevant stakeholders also participated in the event.
The speakers identified urban freight transport challenges and stressed the need for developing a green transport corridor between Dhaka and Chattogram, building resilience of transport infrastructure to climate change impacts and expanding the role of women in Bangladesh's freight transport sector.
It also identified five enablers that would help implement strategy including strengthening of governance for sustainable freight transport, building capacity of transport policy makers, promoting transformative transport technologies, encouraging private sector participation and diversifying funding source for sustainable freight transport.
smunima@yahoo.com