The institution will have about $50bn £34bnn) in initial funds that will be disbursed to help address the region's growing demand for roads, ports and other infrastructure facilities.
The infrastructure is usually less well developed in semi-arid regions because there has been both less demand for roads, water supplies, and marketing outlets, and also because the low level of produc- tivity does not justify development of these facilities.
John Eddy of Arup, a big firm of consulting engineers, says town planners, property developers and builders need to start thinking about the effect of self-driving technology on demand for roads, parking, housing and so on.
These factors created an incessant demand for better roads, and supply and invention both rose to meet that demand.
Equally importantly, 'densification' counteracts the drift to the suburbs with its demand for more roads and bridges and associated increases in carbon emissions from vehicles.
Community demand for roads may be without essential planning and have unreasonable expectations as to the road standard, particularly bridges that can be afforded by the industry.
These include other possible positive effects of a shift from cars to bicycles, such as improvements in water quality, improved workplace productivity, reduced morbidity associated with physical inactivity, and financial savings from reduced demand for new roads and urban car parks as well as effects on other kinds of bicycle trips than commuting.
The deputy prime minister, John Prescott, famously declared: "I will have failed if, in five years' time, there are not many more people using public transport and far fewer journeys by car". The idea of reducing demand for roads was in line with academic studies which conclusively showed that building more roads encouraged motorists to drive further and allowed more cars on the roads.
We must finally lay to rest the myth that there is rising demand for new roads, and instead recognise the benefits of protected investment in locally-led sustainable transport schemes that will reduce car-dependency.
