Dr Wu Xian

Dr Wu Senior Executive Engineer (Transport), Civil & Environmental Engineering, Surbana Jurong. He obtained his PhD in Transportation Systems and Management from the National University of Singapore. His research includes Intelligent Transport System (ITS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Transport System Modelling & Optimisation. He has been actively involved in over 50 projects including urban planning, smart city planning, traffic impact assessment, public transport studies, airport and seaport transport studies, smart mobility and big data. He has provided transport consultancy services to many countries in Asia, Africa, United Arab Emirates and the USA.

Dr Wu believes that we have entered a big data era, where AI, advanced sensors, telco and social media data are essential to map out human travel patterns, which then inform transport master planning. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, he foresees long-term changes in travel demands and transport infrastructure management.

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Throughout your career in the construction industry, what changes have you seen in terms of transport infrastructure development in Southeast Asia?

One of the notable changes I have seen is the trend towards more sustainable modes of transport, specifically public transport systems. This is already evident in a few Southeast Asian countries, where population densities are tremendously high and expected to continuously boom in the next few decades. This trend is also seen in Singapore, where transport policies have become more focused on enhancing public transport systems, as compared to the last century when expanding local road network was the priority.

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