AI Applications for Road Management
Aug 10 - Aug 13
| Abuja, NigeriaOverview
This interactive IRF Certified Training on AI Applications for Road Management delivers state-of-the-art knowledge, practical tools, and real-world case studies on how artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, and advanced analytics are revolutionizing the planning, construction, maintenance, safety, and operation of road infrastructure. With a strong focus on the priorities and constraints of Sub-Saharan Africa — including Nigeria’s ambitious highway expansion and asset renewal programs — the course prepares participants to harness AI for proactive decision-making that extends asset life, optimizes limited budgets, enhances road user safety, and supports sustainable economic development.
Attendees will gain hands-on exposure to automated pavement condition assessment using drones and imagery, predictive deterioration modeling, AI-powered maintenance prioritization, digital twin development for road networks, and intelligent systems for traffic and safety management. Special attention is given to data requirements, organizational change management, procurement strategies, ethical considerations, and capacity-building pathways tailored to ministries, state agencies, and private partners operating in emerging markets.
Through expert instruction, demonstrations, group exercises on Nigerian and regional corridors, and open dialogue, participants will return to their organizations with immediately actionable strategies and a clear implementation roadmap. This program reinforces IRF’s commitment to building the next generation of smart, resilient, and efficiently managed road networks across Africa and beyond.
Learning Objectives
- Understand core principles of artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, and big data analytics and their transformative applications in road asset management, pavement engineering, and network operations.
- Apply computer vision, sensor fusion, and predictive analytics techniques for automated detection of pavement distresses, condition rating, and forecasting remaining service life to enable proactive, cost-effective maintenance strategies.
- Explore the creation and utilization of digital twins for highway corridors and entire networks, including real-time monitoring, scenario simulation, resilience planning, and data-driven investment prioritization.
Target Audience
- National Road & Transport Agency Executives
- Highway Engineers and Managers
- Federal and State Road Safety Agencies
- Road Safety Professionals
- Private Consultants & Contractors
Wire Transfer Details
Account name: Nigerian Institution of Highway Engineers
Account number: 3098849017
Bank name: FCMB
Instructors
Martijn van Gils
Director, Royal Oak Transport Consultancy
Mr. Van Gils is the owner and director of Royal Oak Transport Consultancy (independent engineer since 2016) and works with road agencies who are implementing Asset Management in their business model. He is a specialist in mobility, safety, contract- and project management. He worked for an engineering company from 2006-2016 and started his career at Siemens Traffic & Transportation Systems. He obtained his Master of Science in Systems Engineering and Policy Analysis at Delft University of Technology in 1999. He has 22 years of experience in port, rail, and road infrastructure during the planning, design, construction, and maintenance phases internationally. During his career, he gained experience on both the contractor side as well as the government side. Currently, Mr. Van Gils supports road authorities in developing and rolling out performance-based maintenance contracts and data-driven asset management frameworks, including the adoption of AI-powered tools for predictive maintenance, performance monitoring, and optimized resource allocation. His work helps organizations transition to proactive, performance-oriented strategies that improve safety outcomes, optimize whole-of-life costs, and increase network reliability. He actively contributes to international best practice exchange through the World Road Association.
Ing. Dr. Patrick Amoah Bekoe
Ing. Dr. Patrick Amoah Bekoe is a Chief Civil Engineer who specializes in geotechnical, pavement, structural and transportation engineering, and who has built further expertise in transportation economics and project management. Across more than 23 years since qualifying, he has moved comfortably between three worlds: hands on engineering practice, applied research, and public administration. That breadth is what shapes the way he approaches new tools, including the growing role of artificial intelligence in how roads are planned, built and cared for.
Patrick is a registered Professional Geotechnical Engineer in the State of Texas in the United States, a member of the Order of the Engineer in the USA, and a Fellow of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), where he currently serves as Vice President. He co-chairs the GhIE Public Accountability Committee and led the work behind the 2026 Ghana Infrastructure Report Card. He also belongs to the American Concrete Institute, where he sits on several technical committees, and he reviews for a number of international journals.
As National Research Coordinator at Ghana’s Ministry of Roads and Highways, Patrick has led research into rural access and transport. Much of that work now leans on data and digital methods to make better decisions about how road networks are managed, which places him close to the very themes of this training. Earlier in his career he headed the Agency Implementation Team for the World Bank funded Transport Sector Improvement Project, which introduced Output and Performance Based Road Contracts in the Bono East and Upper West Regions of Ghana. He has been with the Department of Feeder Roads since 2003.
In September 2017 the International Road Federation (IRF) appointed Patrick as its Western and Southern Africa Regional Manager. In that role he has championed capacity building and the adoption of emerging technologies across the road sector on the continent.
Patrick holds a Doctorate in Civil Engineering, awarded in 2013, and a Master of Arts in Economics, also awarded in 2013, both from the University of Florida in the United States, where he had earlier earned a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering in 2009. In 2022 he was awarded a Master in Public Administration by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and in 2002 he received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana.
He is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at KNUST, where he teaches Foundation Engineering and Design as well as Transportation Economics and Finance at the postgraduate level. He is a Fellow of the Transportation Research and Education Centre of Kumasi (TRECK) and a Fellow of the Regional Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani, Ghana.
Venue & Hotel
VENUE
NSE Auditorium, National Engineering Centre
Address: Labour House, Road, Central Business Dis, Abuja 900103, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
Tel: +1 703 535 1001
E-mail: info@IRF.global
ACCOMMODATIONS
Chelsea Abuja Hotel: https://www.chelseahotelabuja.com/
Sheraton Hotel, Abuja: https://www.abujacontinental.com/
