In my capacity as Organizing Committee President, I am pleased to invite you to the XVI Argentine Congress on Road Administration and Traffic. Once again, the XVI Argentine Congress on Road Administration and Traffic will be the most important event in Argentine and Ibero-American road administration. Therefore, it is specially addressed to professionals, technicians and officials, with the certainty that, as with every other congress held over the last years, this new edition will exceed the quality, turnout and productiveness of previous editions.

After many years of holding the Congress in the City of Buenos Aires and along the line of the XV Congress held 3 years ago in the city of Mar del Plata, we have now accepted the invitation of the province and city of Córdoba to hold the congress in said city, after 75 years.

Córdoba promises to be an ideal venue to achieve a high turnout, due to its Mediterranean location, transport hub and general highlights. Its location will undoubtedly enable the attendance of various professionals and technicians from every Argentine province and abroad. The venue meets all the requirements to be the perfect setting to hold a successful congress and a great exhibition. Thus, we hereby invite every professional and technician from the road administration and transport sector, whether public or private, academic institutions and individuals to submit and share their work and experiences in order to have a congress with broad topics, becoming a place for knowledge exchange, with special conferences and presentations of local and international experts.

This time, the theme is “Transport Challenges Facing Growth.” In a broad and multidisciplinary approach, it intends to summon the different players related to it. The challenge remains the same: to develop an efficient, sustainable and sustained transport system, meeting the demands of the country’s development. In this challenge, ground transport plays a leading and irreplaceable role since it will remain, by far, the main means of transport for people and goods in the coming decades in every corner of the planet.

To achieve that, it is necessary to continue with the introduction of new technologies and human resources training, especially considering the environmental and social aspects of the activity.
It is worth mentioning the decision of ITS Argentina, the Asphalt Standing Committee (Comisión Permanente del Asfalto) and the Argentine Institute of Portland Cement (Instituto del Cemento Portland Argentino) of performing, simultaneously with the XVI Congress on Road Administration and Traffic, different supplementary activities such as the IX International Congress of ITS Argentina, the XXXVII Asphalt Meeting and the 2012 International Seminar on Concrete Pavement, joining efforts and extending the topics to be dealt with and the event target audience.

The Congress sessions will be about spreading the main infrastructure projects in the region as well as technical and management innovations, in addition to the presentation and discussion of several papers submitted for the interest of the attendees and the sector’s scientific and technical progress. As on previous occasions, the Expovial Argentina 2012 is also simultaneously and supplementary held, developing technical and scientific activities.

The features of the venue will enable a large exhibition, with settings that will suit every need of exhibitors and a perfect location to showcase road administration equipment, as well as an indoor exhibition area that will comfortably house every sector related to the activity.
This way, companies and professionals, both from the country and abroad, will release their latest IT and product and service breakthroughs related to urban and rural road administration.
Against this background, I once again invite professionals and technicians, teachers and investigators, businessmen, consultants and officials from every level to attend and take part of this new issue.

Under the motto that has summoned us throughout these years, “More and better roads,” I invite you to meet in a friendly environment, actively committed to road administration, this October 2012 in the city of Córdoba.