Leipzig, Germany | May 2026 – The International Road Federation (IRF) played an active role at the ITF Summit 2026, contributing to global discussions on how transport systems can become more resilient, investable and responsive to growing disruption risks.

Representing IRF, Director General Gonzalo Alcaraz joined high-level discussions addressing one of the transport sector’s most pressing challenges: how to ensure transport infrastructure and supply chains remain operational amid rising climate risks, geopolitical instability, operational disruptions and increasing pressure on public financing.

Across two dedicated sessions, IRF helped convene governments, multilateral development banks, insurers, infrastructure specialists, civil society organisations and private sector actors to explore practical pathways toward stronger, more resilient transport investment.

Unlocking Investment Through Insurance for Resilient Transport Corridors

As transport corridors face increasing disruption from extreme weather, conflict, pandemics, accidents and supply chain instability, ensuring resilience has become an investment imperative. Yet public financing alone is insufficient to meet infrastructure needs, while private capital often remains constrained by rising insurance costs, shrinking coverage and heightened uncertainty in high-risk markets.

Against this backdrop, DG Alcaraz joined the panel discussion “Insurance to Unlock Investment for Resilient Transport Corridors and Supply Chains,” organised by Life-Links, Kuehne Climate Center, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT), IRF, CLECAT, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank Treasury.

Moderated by Life-Links CEO Sophie Punte, the session brought together experts from the insurance, logistics, finance and transport sectors to examine how insurance and reinsurance can support more resilient transport systems, not only by transferring risk, but by helping identify vulnerabilities, incentivise risk reduction and improve investment confidence.

Speaking from the perspective of IRF’s global membership, DG Alcaraz emphasised that insurance is already embedded throughout the transport ecosystem, affecting engineers, contractors, operators, freight providers, manufacturers and concessionaires at every stage of a project lifecycle. However, he argued that the growing challenge is not whether insurance exists, but whether infrastructure is resilient enough to remain insurable.

“Resilience is increasingly determining whether insurance remains available, affordable and useful,” – DG Alcaraz

A key message from IRF’s contribution was the need to integrate insurance-informed resilience considerations much earlier in project preparation. Too often, insurance enters discussions after designs are largely fixed and procurement decisions have already shaped risk exposure. DG Alcaraz argued that insurers or insurance-informed criteria should instead help inform planning, feasibility and design decisions from the outset.

Aligning Multi-Stakeholder Engagement for Resilient Transport Investment

As part of the Sumit, IRF also co-organised the side event “Aligning Multi-Stakeholder Engagement for Resilient Transport Investment,”alongside the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Held as part of the ITF Summit programme in Leipzig, the session explored how stronger collaboration between governments, multilateral development banks (MDBs), technical specialists, civil society and the private sector can improve both the resilience and long-term performance of transport investments.

With MDBs investing billions annually in transport infrastructure, the discussion focused on growing evidence that projects developed through meaningful stakeholder engagement achieve better outcomes including stronger safety performance, reduced implementation delays, greater community acceptance and improved sustainability.

DG Alcaraz moderated the session’s second panel, which brought together representatives from EBRD, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), ORIS Materials Intelligence and the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) to examine how multi-stakeholder collaboration can better translate resilience goals into practical transport outcomes.

Throughout the discussion, DG Alcaraz emphasised that stakeholder engagement should not be treated as a procedural requirement or a “soft” addition to infrastructure delivery. Instead, he framed engagement as a core component of project quality and risk management.

One of the central messages emerging from the session was the importance of moving engagement upstream. Waiting until projects are already designed often limits discussions to explaining decisions that have already been made, creating avoidable mistrust, redesign costs, delays, and overlooked risks.

Advancing Practical Solutions for Transport Resilience

IRF’s participation at the ITF Summit 2026 reinforced the organisation’s commitment to moving resilience discussions from high-level ambition to practical implementation.

Whether through insurance-informed investment decisions or stronger stakeholder engagement, a common message emerged across both sessions: resilient transport systems require earlier collaboration, clearer coordination and more integrated approaches to risk.

As infrastructure systems face mounting pressures from climate change, supply chain disruptions and evolving mobility demands, IRF continues to work with governments, development banks, industry leaders and international partners to help shape transport systems that are safer, more sustainable and better prepared for future challenges.