“Gel areas” spreading with no control. (Photo: JICA)

Modern city streets and the “gel areas” on the slopes. (Photo: JICA)

In Ulaanbaatar City, the capital city of Mongolia, the influx of nomadic people from rural areas has increased the city's population from 650,000 in 1998, to over 1 million in 2007, and to 1.31 million by 2012. Approximately 40% of the country's total population is concentrated in this city. Ulaanbaatar City has a basin terrain surrounded by mountains. Nomads migrating into the city build and live in mobile residences called “gers” on the slopes of mountains, where infrastructure services are lacking. This is contributing to the disorderly expansion of the city. The “ger” areas, where 60% of the population of Ulaanbaatar City lives, are not connected to the central heating system,¹ and utilize coal for heating stoves. This has given rise to serious environmental concerns, including air pollution.

Urban planning and infrastructure development that reflect the population increase are urgent tasks for the sustainable development of Ulaanbaatar City. Based on this background, from 2007, Japan assisted Ulaanbaatar City in drafting its own urban development master plan. Subsequently, in order to support the City in the implementation of the master plan, Japan carried out the Project on Capacity Development in Urban Development Sector from 2010 to 2013.

Under this capacity building project, Japan dispatched a total of 14 experts to Ulaanbaatar City to support the City's legal system development related to urban planning, such as land usage regulations. The achievements of the project include the Urban Regeneration Bill, which is being deliberated at the Parliament of Mongolia to pass into law. In addition, Japan provides support to Mongolia for administrative capacity building required to implement urban infrastructure development projects.

Furthermore, in response to Mongolia's strong interest in cold regions engineering² used in Hokkaido, where the climate is similar to Mongolia's, experts were dispatched to Mongolia with the cooperation of Asahikawa City, Hokkaido. Mongolian experts also visited Hokkaido as part of their training in Japan. In recent years, technical exchanges on urban development in cold regions have been conducted between Mongolia and Sapporo City.

As described above, Mongolia has promoted infrastructure development based on the urban development master plan. The technologies and knowledge of Japan are being utilized for the development of Mongolia's urban transport systems and basic city infrastructure.

*1 A heating system that supplies warm water from thermal power stations. This system is commonly found in Ulaanbaatar City.

*2 Engineering technology specific to cold regions, such as well-sealed and well-insulated buildings and technology that prevents the freezing of roads.

A high-level meeting was held in June 2013 to explain the detail of development plan to the leading figures of the country. (Photo: JICA)

Kumasi City is the second largest city in Ghana with a population of 1.91 million. The city sustains the regional economy as a hub for farming, agricultural processing, timber and mineral resources. It also serves a critical function as a transit point of the international distribution network that connects to the neighboring landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. In recent years, the rapidly increasing population has deteriorated the urban environment in the Greater Kumasi which includes Kumasi City and surrounding cities. The city center experiences severe traffic congestion and has expanded without proper planning. Furthermore, public services are not reaching the whole population. The development of urban infrastructure, such as road networks, water and sewer services, and waste management facilities, has not kept pace with the population increase.

One of the problems is that the area lacks an administrative framework as well as urban planning at the regional level, that is, a level higher than the city level. The Greater Kumasi required a mid- to long-term comprehensive strategic plan that was needed to pursue sustainable growth and development as an important hub for distribution in Ghana and the entire region.

Under such circumstances, Japan dispatched 16 experts in a wide range of sectors, including urban planning, transport, water and sewer systems, power supply, and economic development, to provide support for: (i) the development of the Greater Kumasi while keeping a balance with social and economic development; (ii) the formulation of a comprehensive urban development master plan; and (iii) the enhancement of the planning capabilities of the Town and Country Planning Department, Ministry of Environment, Science & Technology through technology transfers.

Discussions with related agencies, city residents and experts at the stakeholder meeting held in August 2013. (Photo: JICA Cambodia Office)

A social experiment with the public bus conducted in February 2014. This first pilot test of public transport in Phnom Penh attracted strong interest from local residents and people inside and outside of Cambodia. (Photo: JICA Survey Team)

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital city of approximately 1.35 million people, the number of registered cars has continued to increase against the backdrop of its recent economic growth. The traffic volume on Ring Road 271, one of the major roads in Phnom Penh, had increased by 9.1 times in 2011 compared to the 2000 level. As such statistics illustrate, traffic congestion and traffic accident incidence have steadily worsened.

Since the 2000s, Japan has been providing support to Cambodia for the formulation of a comprehensive urban transport master plan, the pillars of which include road maintenance and the introduction of public transport (bus service) in the city center. Support has also been extended for the development of city roads and bridges and the installation of traffic lights in order to improve intersection traffic. However, the public bus service is yet to be introduced and the city has not been able to take any effective measures in the face of the increasing volume of traffic coming from the expanded urban area.

Against this background, Japan is providing technical cooperation for updating the comprehensive urban transport master plan which incorporates traffic demand forecasts in accordance with the new traffic situation in Phnom Penh and for proposing priority projects. For the formulation of this master plan, a major traffic survey involving 43,000 participants was conducted to study the traffic demand model. In addition, in the city's first attempt to introduce public transport service, public bus service was implemented for one month as a social experiment. This attracted strong interest from locals as well as from people outside of Cambodia. Furthermore, Japan provided technology transfers and capacity building supports to urban transport policymakers to enable Phnom Penh to pursue independent efforts.

The updated comprehensive urban transport master plan takes account of maintaining safety and comfort as well as harmony with the environment in urban areas. It also includes action plans that need to be implemented in the near future, such as mid- to long-term measures related to the development of public transport infrastructure for urban railways and LRT (Light Rail Transit)1, management of parking areas in Phnom Penh, and enhancing traffic control at road junctions.
(As of August 2014)

*1 The next generation track transport system. With the use of Light Rail Vehicles (LRV) and improved tracks and platforms, LRT offers superior features in terms of punctuality, quick-deliverability, comfort, and ease of boarding and exiting. (Reference: Website of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/sisaku/lrt/lrt_index.html#2)

A view from the Nairobi City Hall overlooking the business district of the city. (Photo: JICA Project Team)

Nairobi City, the capital of Kenya, which aims to become a middle-income country by 2030 occupies a vital position in not only economic terms, but also politically and socially. However, Nairobi City had not updated its comprehensive urban development plan for nearly 40 years since 1973, and the city's urban development lacked vision and direction.

The population size of the Nairobi metropolitan area, which was 800,000 in 1980, increased to 3.1 million in 30 years (2009) and is expected to reach 5.2 million by 2030. The issues arising from this rapid increase in population, such as traffic congestion, expansion of slums, and environmental deterioration, have long been neglected. These issues have become so serious that they have significant consequences on the economic activities and the lives of residents. The further development of the area requires the establishment of a consistent urban plan which cuts across various sectors, such as the development of traffic networks, the residential environment, waste management facilities, and the water supply system.

This project supported the formulation of an urban development master plan by Nairobi City with the target year set at 2030. A total of 18 consultants were dispatched to provide support utilizing Japan's technologies and experience in various sectors, including urban planning, land usage planning, roads and urban transport systems, environment management, industrial development, electric supply planning, water, sewer and drainage systems planning, and human resources development. For example, they conducted a traffic fact-finding survey and estimated the future traffic demand based on the result, which has been reflected in the urban planning of Nairobi City. It is expected that the master plan formulated with the support of Japan will contribute to the development of Nairobi City, targeting 2030, and will be approved by the Government of Kenya as the Fourth Master Plan for the City of Nairobi.