THE AUSTRALIAN Road Research Board (ARRB) is officially extending its research and expertise into the ports space, with the launch of the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) for Australia and New Zealand.
NTRO was launched on 1 December in Melbourne.
The organisation said the new entity would offer “the ports industry and those governing it ways to improve and future-proof their systems”.
ARRB has worked for more than 60 years delivering standards and specifications for roads and pavements. The organisation said this experience would underpin the new NTRO entity.
According to the statement, NTRO will create the new knowledge that will be used to provide world’s best practice across all modes of transport – ports, road, rail and airports – for Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking at the NTRO launch at the National Transport Research Centre in Melbourne, ARRB and NTRO CEO Michael Caltabiano said the new organisation will be “the one source of truth for Australia and New Zealand governments and the private sector”.
He said it would deliver “solutions to the transport challenges of tomorrow and genuinely shaping our transport future”.
“NTRO’s vision is to enable transport agencies to give effect to that change, by providing that central portal for innovation in Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Caltabiano said.
“It’s a big vision, and a pretty lofty goal – but we’re up for it.”
The Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI) formally became part of ARRB in mid-2022 and is to lead the NTRO’s rail focus.
NTRO Ports and NTRO Airports have also been established for those disciplines, and a leader for the NTRO Ports team is expected to be announced within the next fortnight.
As well as its Melbourne headquarters – in Fishermans Bend close to the Port of Melbourne – the NTRO also has offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, and Perth.
