From 26 to 28 May, Madrid hosted the 52nd edition of ASECAP Days, where the European toll road and motorway sector gathered to explore the evolving landscape of mobility. Under the theme “Challenges of Future Mobility | The Role of Road Infrastructure”, the event tackled the pressing need to make transport systems safer and greener. 

The International Road Federation (IRF) was actively present, with its President and Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Aegean Motorway S.A. Dimitris Mandalozis, delivering a speech on 27 May. Opening the conference, Mr Mandalozis drew attention to the accelerating pace of change in mobility, from electrification and automation to shared mobility and digitalisation, and the critical role infrastructure must play in navigating this transformation.  

“Is our road infrastructure ready to support the mobility of tomorrow?” he asked delegates, setting the tone for an address built around three strategic pillars: smarter systems, sustainable approaches, and inclusive design. “We must embrace digital technologies that enable predictive maintenance, real-time traffic management, and dynamic safety interventions. Connected infrastructure is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity.”  

He also underscored the importance of harmonised standards, open data ecosystems, and intersectoral collaboration. He then turned to sustainability: “Infrastructure must be sustainable. That means investing in EV charging corridors, climate-resilient designs, and circular construction materials. But sustainability is not just environmental, it is also social and economic.”  

Concluding his address, Mr Mandalozis called for greater inclusivity in infrastructure planning: “Future mobility will be multi-modal and user centred. Roads must be designed for all users: drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and public transport.”  

He emphasised the need for a Safe System approach, one that anticipates human error and minimises harm, while also allowing space for future shifts in mobility behaviour and technology. “We must also plan with flexibility, recognising that travel behaviour, technologies, and needs will continue to evolve.”  

Later that day, in a parallel session on digital tools for infrastructure, Mr Mandalozis returned to the stage to present the Motorway Management Service System (MMSS), a digital twin model that showcases the potential of data-driven tools in asset management. The MMSS exemplifies how digitalisation can enhance safety, optimise maintenance, and boost operational efficiency.  

Bringing his interventions to a close, Mr Mandalozis reminded participants of the long-term stakes involved in today’s infrastructure choices: “The roads we build today will determine the kind of mobility and the kind of society we enable tomorrow.” 

In the session “CCAM: Challenges Towards Large Scale Deployment” organised by FACTUAL, IRF presented the short, medium and long terms that infrastructure will face in the arrival of autonomus vehicles.  

One of the main challenges highlighted by the IRF, is at the foundation level, stressing the importance of understanding and harmonising the infrastructure. IRF spotlighted the work of the Augmented CCAM Project which is doing exactly that. 

The project seeks to harmonise and evaluate Physical, Digital, and Communication Infrastructure (PDI) to accelerate the integration of automated mobility across Europe. It is developing 11 PDI support solutions (aiming at TLR 6-7) that are being applied and evaluated in different configurations in seven test sites across three European Countries (France, Latvia, Spain), encompassing a vast spectrum of physical (living labs, closed areas, open traffic highway, urban and periurban/rural environments) and virtual (DT, AV & driving simulators) test beds.