The 3-day 11th Malaysian Road Conference & Exhibition and the concurrent 4th International Road Federation Asia-Pacific Regional Congress held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur from 11 October 2022 ended on a high note.

Since its inaugural edition in 1994, the MRC has been jointly held with the Ministry of Works, Malaysia and the departments under its wings and either the World Road Association (PIARC) or the International Road Federation (IRF). The 11th MRC saw collaboration with the IRF.

Every edition of MRC carries a timely theme created to address current local situations and even encompassing scenarios worldwide. The theme rightly chosen for the 11th MRC / 4th IRF Congress was Towards Resilient Road Infrastructure considering the recent devastating damage to public infrastructure and private properties as a result of unprecedented rainfall and subsequent massive flooding and forest fires.

The Senior Minister of Works, Malaysia Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof (pic) said that ‘we can no longer work in silo but instead must work collaboratively together to build a resilient and sustainable infrastructure.” He said this when addressing a capacity-filled World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka Hall during the official opening ceremony of the joint events on 11 October 2022.

A total of 11 entries were received and 5 projects were short listed. The winner for this series of the 2022 Malaysian Road Conference was the Ministry of Works, Malaysia (MOW) for its newly completed bridge across the Perak River connecting Kampung Lambor Kiri and Kampung Lambor Kanan designed and implemented by the Public Works Department, Malaysia (PWD).

The Senior Minister of Works presented the awards to following four selected undergraduate final year students from local public universities at the opening ceremony of the conference and congress on 11 October.

Most technical sessions had only standing space. Five invited guest speakers and close to 90 local and overseas presenters shared their expertise and views with the delegates in the programmed 3 plenary sessions, 5 International Road Federation (IRF) executive sessions and 20 parallel sessions.

The guest speakers

Of the 111 booth spaces made available, a record 108 booth spaces were taken up by local and foreign road industry entrepreneurs at the exhibition held simultaneously with this joint conference and congress.

REAM’s Young Engineers and Professionals (YEP) Group organised a 2-hour technical talk on BIM Modelling for Infrastructure and Lessons Learnt on 12 October in conjunction with the MRC and IRF Congress.

“On behalf of the Organising Committee, I wish to place on record our heartfelt appreciation to the International Road Federation for its collaboration, delegates, paper presenters, invited guest speakers, event partners, exhibitors, advertisers and the organising committee members and volunteers for their spirited support towards the successful culmination of this joint conference and congress.”

The Director General of Public Works Department, Malaysia, the President of Road Engineering Association of Malaysia and Adviser to the Organising Committee Dato’ Seri Ir. Haji Mohamad Zulkefly bin Sulaiman (pic) highlighted the impacts as a result of climate change in his address when officially closing the 3-day conference and congress on 13 October 2022.

The Director General of Public Works Department, Malaysia, the President of Road Engineering Association of Malaysia (REAM) and Adviser to the Organising Committee Dato’ Seri Ir. Haji Mohamad Zulkefly bin Sulaiman disbursed financial aid to deserving students during the closing ceremony of the conference and congress.

Towards the objective of encouraging greater participation by Malaysians, cash and certificates were awarded to the best three papers presented during the 3-day event. All papers were original and not presented elsewhere and were authored / co-authored and delivered by Malaysians.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Ts. Dr. Norhidayah Abdul Hassan won the Best Invention Award and the IENA Special Award for the asphalt FWB product at the Malaysian Road Conference Invention & Innovation Exhibition (MRC – IIE).

A total 12 smart phones were given out to lucky delegates. Participating delegates were required to visit at least 70 percent of the exhibition booths and get their ‘passports’ stamped by the respective exhibitors as proof of their visit.

Five enlightening technical visits showcasing Malaysia’s drive towards meeting the demand for an efficient and safe road and transportation infrastructure were offered to the participating delegates.

A photography competition was organised for the very first time in conjunction with MRC. A total of 30 entries were received from enthusiastic photographers. The following five entries were shortlisted for final judging and grading.

Participation and contribution by partners are pivotal to the successful culmination of an event. The following were partners providing the added impetus to the MRC with their strong presence in the event.