Conacon<\/a>, Jorge G\u00e1miz, began the debate by saying the following: \u201cthe best way not to lose time or money is to invest in preserving our heritage\u201d. Marbella Town Councillor, Blanca Fern\u00e1ndez, pointed out that investments always appear to be few in number, but they must not be neglected, because \u201cconservation is the public face of a town or city council, especially in tourist areas\u201d. <\/p>\nOn a critical note, the manager of the Association of Infrastructure Exploitation and Conservation Companies (ACEX), Pablo S\u00e1ez, pointed out that conservation does not usually make the news because there are no ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but that it is vital because \u201cnowadays, members of the public depend on road conservation in order to move around\u201d.<\/p>\n
The second of the round table discussions, chaired by Eduardo Fern\u00e1ndez, the CEO of Eiffage Infrastructure, was dedicated to new conservation techniques. \u00c1ngel Sampedro, a professor from the Alfonso X University, predicted that sometime in the future applied research will enable us to develop road surfaces capable of transmitting data relating to the road surface condition automatically, although at the present time, more research should be done into recycling and Innovative Public Purchase, which could enable public authorities to acquire and apply technology more easily.<\/p>\n
For his part, Madrid City Councillor, Borja Carabante, said how worried he was by the lack of flexibility the authorities actually have: \u201cthe road is not just a black stain over which cars pass, the aim is to be flexible and efficient in as far as investment in better management is concerned".<\/p>\n
The last of the round table discussions, from a user´s point of view, analysed the various different viewpoints made during the series of Talks. The Chairperson, the journalist Luis Carlos Ram\u00edrez, extracted from each speech the most controversial points so as these could be debated. Mario Arnaldo Fern\u00e1ndez, the President of the European Automobile Association, put forward the topic of road safety which, according to his data, indicates that road traffic accidents represent 1% of the Gross Domestic Product.<\/p>\n
Along these lines, Manuel Castillo, the Director of Diario Sur, emphasized the efforts made by the authorities in conservation, but which generally is not appreciated by the general public, and that good education and a policy of implementing adequate fines is essential in order to prevent antisocial behaviour. Likewise, Javier P\u00e9rez de la Fuente, the Head of Department for Architecture and Infrastructure in the City Planning Department, stated that in municipal budgets it would be necessary to set aside a minimum annual amount for road conservation \u201cwhich could be around 0.5% of the value of the city\u2019s assets\u201d.<\/p>\n
The last of the speeches was made by Juan \u00c1vila, the general secretary for the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, who presented at the series of Day talks the pioneering initiative of a National Forum on Conservation of Urban Pavements and who underlined the importance of the role undertaken by the federation as a conveyor belt for positive experiences relating to conservation in cities such as Malaga.<\/p>\n
The ceremony can be seen free and has been streamed on the website www.itafec.com, where a number of different speeches and broadcasts are shown.<\/p>\n
The series of talks was organized by the Head of City Planning, Civil Engineering and Infrastructure, coordinated by Francisco Carmona Conde, Head of the City Services Department, and was sponsored by the following companies: Conacon and Eiffage Infrastructure in conjunction with the following Associations: Ceacop, Asefma, ACP and ACEX, and the Professional Institutes for Road, Canal and Port Engineering; Technical Engineers from the Civil Engineering and Public Works Department; Industrial Engineers; Architecture; Surveyors and Industrial Technical Engineering, and Quantity Surveyors and Technical Architects.<\/p>\n
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