The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation staged its Presidential Conference at Waterfront Hall on Friday 17 September. More than 180 delegates from Britain and Ireland attended the one-day event, at which a range of topics on the infrastructure front were debated. On the agenda was climate change, sustainable transport and the role of transportation in the current economic situation.



The conference took place in Belfast as this year’s CIHT President is Geoff Allister, Chief Executive of the Department for Regional Development’s Roads Service. The theme for the conference was ‘Leading the Way’ and included expert speakers from a variety of transportation backgrounds. Presentations from the conference will be available to members shortly and photographs of the event and Presidential Dinner are now available in the exclusive member’s area ‘My CIHT’.

Mr Allister said:

“Our industry is going through difficult times at present and we are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review in October.”

“Only when that is published and the detail is spelt out will we start to get a clear picture of what the impact will be on our sector, but there is no doubt that we are facing a challenging few years.”

“A number of members of the Institution have already lost their jobs as the recession bites, but in these circumstances it is vital that we keep skills levels up. To this end, we are gratified that our membership is actually increasing as more professionals across the UK see the benefits of the qualifications and technical guidance that CIHT can provide.”

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The Institution’s message at present is that resources should be concentrated on maintaining the present network and managing transport demands with any funding left being devoted to investment in new infrastructure projects.

CIHT would like to thank all those involved in the conference and also for the genorosity of the sponsors.