INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS RWANDA
Remera - Ingenzi House, 2nd Floor
P.o.Box 4386 Kigali Rwanda
Email: info@engineersrwanda.org; website: http://www.engineersrwanda.org
CONCEPT NOTE
The Institution of Engineers Rwanda (IER) in conjunction with the East African Federation of
Engineers, the Ministry of Infrastructure, RHA, RBS, RURA and CoK is organizing a National
Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure Development at GRAND LEGACY HOTEL to take place
on the 28th August – 29th August 2014.
The theme of the conference is line with the World Engineering Conference 2014 on Sustainable
Infrastructure (WECSI 2014) due to take place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria
on November 2-7, 2014.
The term sustainable development rose to significance after it was used by the Brundtland
Commission in its 1987 report Our Common Future. In the report, the commission coined what has
become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development: "development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The term “Infrastructure” typically refers to the technical structures that support a society, such as
roads, bridges, water supply, sewers, electrical grids, telecommunications, and so forth, and can be
defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing commodities and services
essential to enable, sustain, or enhance societal living conditions."
Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the production of goods and services, and also the
distribution of finished products to markets, as well as basic social services such as schools and
hospitals; for example, roads enable the transport of raw materials to a factory. In military parlance,
the term refers to the buildings and permanent installations necessary for the support, redeployment,
and operation of military forces. Research by anthropologists shows the social importance and
multiple ways that infrastructures shape human society and vice versa.
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Good quality infrastructure is a key ingredient for sustainable development. All countries need
efficient transport, sanitation, energy and communications systems if they are to prosper and provide
a decent standard of living for their populations. Unfortunately, many developing countries possess
poor infrastructure, which hampers their growth and ability to trade in the global economy.
Though not a regularly used term, sustainable infrastructure refers to anything built or used in a way
that contributes to the overall sustainability of natural resources.
Despite the typical emphasis with this term on transportation, this is just one of the areas were
sustainable infrastructure can make a difference. Sustainable architecture can help reduce the energy
consumption of buildings by using, among other things, energy-efficient windows and better
environmental systems. Some even include more recent innovations such as solar energy panels or
green roofs.
Regarding water usage, sustainable infrastructure often means assuring that the water supply is safe,
consistent, and in good shape. Leaks and contaminants getting into a water supply can severely limit a
system's efficiency and lead to a great deal of wasted resources. To combat this problem, many water
utilities invest a significant portion of revenue in an ongoing capital improvement plan and purification.
Together, these help promote sustainable practices. Ad
Regarding energy consumption, sustainable infrastructure means putting the pieces in place that can
help reduce the dependence on fossil fuel, a non-renewable energy source. This may include
developing mass transportation alternatives such as light rail, subways, and bus routes. It may also
mean providing electrical hookups for car recharging, hydrogen refilling stations, and other such
equipment for alternative fuels.
In terms of energy creation, especially electricity, sustainable infrastructure means using methods that
are not heavily reliant upon fossil fuel. This includes building infrastructure such as wind farms, nuclear
power plants and even hydroelectric plants that do not rely on these resources. While these may
have their own problems and critics, they are at least considered sustainable in the long term.
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Plants using coal and natural gas as their main sources of energy are not sustainable over many years
because the consumption of those resources far outpaces the ability of those resources to replenish
themselves.
In the long run, the main goal of sustainable infrastructure is to promote sustainable living amongst
the entire population. One such community doing just that is Ashton Hayes, a town of approximately
1,000 people in England that aims to eventually be carbon neutral. According to the plan they have
developed, they hope to return to hydroelectric power and plant 16,000 trees, among other things.
The critical relationship that exists between sustainable socio-economic development and the quantity
& quality of infrastructural facilities available to any community or nation is not in doubt. Indeed,
investment in basic infrastructure has been identified as one of the three key factors, which has
contributed to the rapid economic transformation of developed and emerging economies. This is in
addition to investment in knowledge and innovation generation and development of small and medium
enterprises (SMEs). Such investments have served as foundations for domestic technological learning
and also by acting as centers of diffusion of skills into the rest of society.
There is no doubt that Infrastructure is the key component of the investment climate, leading to
reduced costs of doing business and enabling people to access markets. Fundamentally, infrastructure
promotes trade and integration into world markets, and is key to human development, including the
delivery of social services such as health and education. Investment in Infrastructure also represents
untapped potential for the creation of productive employment. For example, increasing the stock of
infrastructure by 1 percent could add up to 9 percent GDP. It creates new jobs and helps to create
skilled personnel in local firms (Juma, 2006).
The society entrusts engineering practitioners with creating a sustainable world and enhancing the
quality of life, and in doing these, they serve competently, collaboratively and, in accordance with
professional ethics, as master planners, designers, constructors, operators, seeing to the maintenance
of society’s built environment and consequently, its economic and social engines. Thus, engineering
practitioners are key stakeholders in helping society to have a comfortable life, to function and to
flourish. Sustainability is also a key factor in the provision of infrastructure.
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Added to concerns for the preservation of our environment and the sustainable appropriation of
earth’s finite resources, and the realities of climate change and global warming,
This national Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure Development is resolved to focus on Rwanda
and East Africa, the region that has obviously been under-served and continues to be so with respect
to the needed critical infrastructure. In this respect, it is doubtful, if East African countries will attain
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the internationally set minimum global benchmarks
standards for human and societal development. It is thus apposite to ponder on what East Africa is
doing, what East Africa can do and what the world engineers and the rest of humanity can encourage
Africa to do to achieve the development of sustainable infrastructure, and thus lift the continent from
the realms of poverty and squalor into posterity and sustained growth. That is the challenge set for
this conference. Key speakers with cognate expertise and experience will be invited from all sectors
of concern to lead discussions on the various aspects of the main theme, and the eight (8) topics.
Case studies and working policies that have national, regional and global relevance and applications
will be presented.
TOPICS
Women in engineering and Innovation:
Innovation in Engineering is essential for a successful and productive economy. Innovation is about
building on what we already know to create fresh ideas, new products and services, new production
processes and ways of working. Innovative thinking is the key to keeping New Rwanda internationally
competitive and ensuring its future growth and prosperity.
Research confirms that innovative firms are more profitable, enjoy greater market share and have
higher sales than non-innovative firms. They are also more likely to create jobs. Women play a big
role in any society and their participation in Engineering enhances fast development to the economy
of any nation.
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Promotion of regional energy projects and inter-connections:
This topic discusses East African electrical energy resources: feasibility studies, interconnection of
power systems, the present state of the electric power sector, future expansion of East African
power systems, and implementation of an East African power grid network. It examines involvement
of the big funders of Energy such as World Bank with African electricity infrastructure, and prospects
for evaluation of a unified power system in East Africa. First, the poorness of East African countries
and their limited electricity infrastructure is discussed. Objectives for electricity infrastructure
development in response to perceived needs is examined and the development challenge for the
future, with ways of meeting that challenge defined. The topic discusses existing power systems in
East Africa.
The Transactions on Energy Conversion includes in its venue the analysis, control, planning, and
economics of sources of electrical energy, distributed and cogeneration power plants, central station
grid connection, and equipment for generation and utilization of electric power, including electric
machinery and energy storage systems.
Renewable energy sources (Micro hydropower, solar, biogas) and rural electrification
About 16% of global final energy consumption presently comes from renewable resources, with 10%
of all energy from traditional biomass, mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from hydroelectricity. New
renewables (small hydro, modern biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and biofuels) account for another
3% and are growing rapidly. At the national level, at least 30 nations around the world already have
renewable energy contributing more than 20% of energy supply. National renewable energy markets
are projected to continue to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond. Wind power, for
example, is growing at the rate of 30% annually, with a worldwide installed capacity of 282,482
megawatts (MW) at the end of 2012.
Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy sources,
which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of renewable energy and
energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security, climate change mitigation, and economic
benefits.[7] In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable
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sources such as solar power and wind power.
While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to
rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human
development. United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the
ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity.
Rwanda has the objective to add 1000 MW of renewable energy to its production capacity by 2017.
The country is rich with hydro and geothermal potential. With only 16% of the population currently
having access to electricity, grid expansion is a top priority.
The topic shall cite out the advancement by Rwanda, challenges and future prospects in developing
the sector.
Rural Transport and Food Security:
Transport is an integral part of food security and productivity where there is trade. To take goods to
market requires transport and travel.
Trading in food in East Africa requires nuanced understanding of farmers, farming and travelling and
transport.
The burdens of transport are not simply a matter of costs, they are also to do with the way travel and
transport interact with social organisation, social processes, technology use, market institutions,
services including storage and border crossings, technologies, information,
spatial form and
distributions
Better informed understandings of the role of travel and transport requires understanding of
household strategies and competencies and a gendered understanding
Community enterprise focussed on transport can increase agricultural productivity
The topic shall cite the example of Rwanda and how rural transport has embarked to facilitate food
productivity.
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Housing and Shelter:
Housing, shelter, human settlements and urban development in the third world are themes often
dealt with by scholars in order to establish a theoretical framework based on available, if not always
reliable, data to derive guidelines for possible solutions.
Most authors however address the problem from an academic point of view and consider it a
sectorial problem with potential solutions within the limits of financial, technical or political
frameworks.
The topic will discuss the issue of housing in Rwanda and propose the best way to tackle the problem.
Sustainable use of construction materials:
The construction industry has a bevy of options for constructing sustainable, low-energy, non-toxic
structures. From hemp, to corncobs, to old tires, to smart design, we've rounded up some of the best
ideas in green design for the structures.
The topic shall discus on the best way approach for sustainable construction materials to be adopted.
Maintenance of existing infrastructures for sustainable development:
It has become increasingly apparent that a paradoxical situation is emerging with respect to urban
services in less developed countries. On the one hand a huge demand for urban infrastructure has
resulted from rapid urbanization; on the other, existing infrastructure is falling into disrepair before
completing its design life. Operation and maintenance (O&M) has been identified by commentators as
the key to enhancing the sustainability of existing infrastructure and assets. However, there is a
general lack of understanding by stakeholders about the role of operation, maintenance and
sustainability in the context of good governance.
The aim of this paper is to explore the constraints to operation, maintenance, and sustainability of
urban services. The findings shall be based on case studies from Rwanda.
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