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Madan B. RegmiOfficer-in-Charge
Transport Policy and Development SectionUNESCAP, Bangkok
High Level Expert Group Meeting on Trans-African Highway
Addis Ababa, 19-20 September 2011
Experience in the Development of the Asian Highway
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• Introduction to ESCAP Region• Asian Highway Network• Intergovernmental Agreement• Design Standards • Status of the Asian Highway• Transport Facilitation• Concluding Remarks
Outline of Presentation
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ESCAP Region at a glance
62 member countries 12 land locked countries 4 billion people (61% of
world population) 29% of world GDP Unbalanced Development
Concentrated in coastal areas
635 million people in absolute poverty
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The Vision for Asia and the Pacific
Development of an international integrated intermodal transport and logistics system
The Busan Declaration on Transport Development in Asian and the Pacific
Ministerial Conference on Transport 2006 Forum of Asian Ministers of Transport, 2009 Committee on Transport Ministerial Conference on Transport, Nov. 2011
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Development of the International Highway: Issues and Challenges
• Standards and condition of infrastructure• Maintenance and upgrading of infrastructure • Financing development and maintenance (gap)• Facilitation of border crossings• Infrastructure and operation
–Highway-Public/Private sector–Railway-Public
• National plan and policies –think beyond borders• Coordination among countries and agencies
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Asian Highway, Trans-Asian Railway and Transport Facilitation
Goal: To promote regional cooperation/trade Criteria for identification of routes:
• Capital to capital links• Industrial and agricultural centres• Sea, river and air ports • Container terminals & depots• Tourism attractions
Maximize use of existing infrastructure Coordinated plan for development
Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development Project
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Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network
• Process:– Formulation– Formalization– Implementation
• Infrastructure• Does not include soft issues
– Cross border transport– Transit rights
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North-East Asia 2002
South East and South Asia 1993
Central Asia 1995
Development of the Asian Highway142,000 km, 32 countries
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Developing the Agreement
• Regional EGM- May 2002• Drafting Meeting- Nov 2002• Four Subregional meetings• Intergovernmental Meeting- Nov 2003• Certified True Copies -Office of Legal Affairs• Opening for signature- April 2004• Entry into force: 4 July 2005• 28 Parties, 1 signatory and 3 potential
signatories
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Obligations of the Parties
Adopt AH network Develop routes in conformity
with standards Display AH route signs Working Group on the Asian
Highway meets every two years
Negotiating mechanism Unilateral change of border
crossing points not permitted
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Asian Highway Related activities
Asian Highway DatabaseRoad SafetySustainable transport developmentRoad investment- Public Private PartnershipsRegional projectsFacilitation Agreements
AH Routes used for Transit and Subregional Transport Agreement ASEAN, GMS, SAARC, ECO, Central Asia, SCO-
Road transport
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Annex I: Asian Highway Network
RouteNo.
Itinerary
AH1 Tokyo –Fukuoka – ferry - Busan-…-Seoul-……-Beijing-Nanning-Youyiguan-HuuNghi-Dong Dang- Ha Noi- Ho Chi Minh City- Moc Bai- Bavet-Phnom Penh-Poipet-Aranyaprathet-Hin Kong- Bang Pa In (-Bangkok)- Tak- Mae Sot-Payagi (-Yangon)-Mandalay-Tamu– Moreh – Imphal– Kohima–Dimapur– ……….Dawki – Tamabil –Sylhet – Katchpur– Dhaka – Benapol – Kolkata – Barhi – Kanpur – Agra – NewDelhi– Wahgah– Lahore–Rawalpindi(–Islamabad)–Peshawar–Torkham–Kabul-…Kapikule–Border of Bulgeria
AH16 Dong Ha - Lao Bao – Densavanh – Seno – Savanakhet – Mukdahan - Khon Kaen- Phitsanulok - Tak
AH42 Lanzhou – Xining – Lhasa – Zhangmu – Kodari – Kathmandu – Pathlaiya – Birgunj –Raxaul – Muzaffarpur – Barauni - Barhi
Includes highway routes of international and national importance nominated and agreed among countries
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Annex II: Classification and Design Standards
Primary Class
Access controlled highway, Design Speed of 60-120 km/hr, 4 lanes or more
Class I Design speed of 50-100 km/hr, 4 lanes or more (divided)
Class II Design speed of 40-80 km/hr, 2 lanes (wide:7m)
Class III Design speed of 30-60 km/hr, 2 lanes (narrow: 6m), Surface Treatment (DBST) can be used for pavement
“Minimum" standards and guidelines for construction and upgrading of AH to facilitate international road traffic
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Asian Highway Design Standards
• “Minimum" standards and guidelines for construction/upgrading of AH to facilitate international road traffic
• Classification: Primary, Class I, II, III• Terrain Classification:
– Level/Rolling/Mountainous/Steep• Design Speed: 30 – 120 km/hr• Cross-sections: 3.5 m lane width, right of way 30-50m• Horizontal and Vertical Alignments
– Radius 30 – 520 m, vertical grade 4 -7% • Pavement Type: AC/ CC/DBST• Vertical clearance: 4.5 m• Road safety, environment
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ROK
Annex III: Identification and signage
AH1
AH4AH42
• Obligation of countries to place AH route signs within 5 years from the date of entry into force
• AH followed by route number
• Flexible - colour and size of sign, frequency
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AH Conformity to Design Standards
US$ 18 billion-priority needsAH Investment Forum
Class III28,148 Km
20%
Below III11,570 Km
8%
Other1,181 km
1%
Primary20,698 Km
15%
Class I23,988 Km
17%
Class II56,491 Km
39%
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Asian Highway: Missing Bridges
AH13: Mekong Bridge and 8 Km Road, Pakbeng, Lao PDR
AH1: Mekong Bridge, 2.5 Km, Neak Luang, Cambodia
AH1: Padma River, 5.5 km; Bangladesh
AH15: Mekong Bridge, Lao/Thai Border, Thakek-Nakhon Phanom, 2011
AH3: Mekong Bridge, Lao/Thai Border, Odomxai-Chaing Khong, 2013
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Asian Highway Priority Investment needs
• US $ 26 being invested or committed for AH (2005)–Upgrading of 26,000 km requires further US $ 18 billion
• Upgrading to class III and improvements• Further assessment of priority AH corridors• Asian Highway Investment Forum• Increasing role of private sector• Publication available at• http://www.unescap.org/ttdw/Publications/TIS_pubs/pub_2424/pub_2424_fulltext.pdf
•AH development included in nation policies and plans•Projects supported by bilateral and multilateral donors and Governments
•Development Bank’s 70% of financing on roads•ADB financed 21% of AH, 8% of TAR
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Selected Highway Investment Projects
China National Expressway Network, 85, 000 km $ 240 billionIndia National Highway Development Project
Phases I-VII $ 53 billionRural roads (Bharat Nirman Yojana) $ 11 billion
Bangladesh AH1:Padma Bridge, 5.5 km $ 1.8 billionPakistan National Trade Corridor Improvement $ 5.3 billionSri Lanka 10 year Investment plan $ 200 millionThailand Intercity Motorway project $ 14 billionLao PDR Road Improvement Plan-2020 $ 345 millionCambodia Road Investment Master Plan $ 2.6 billion
Mekong Bridge, Naek Leoung $ 100 millionViet Nam Expressway Network Development $ 8 billion
ADB project on Regional Infrastructure Development-Feasibility of Highway and railways
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Progress in Upgrading the Network13
.0%
7.0%
28.0
%
36.0
%
16.0
%
14.5
%
13.5
%
37.0
%
26.0
%
9.0%
15%
17%
40%
20%
8%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
Primary Class I Class II Class III Below III
Classification
Pere
cent
age
200420062008
Trans-Asian Railway Network
•22 signatories•16 Parties•Entered into force on 11 June 2009•Working Group on TAR
117,000 km, 28 countries10,500 Km Missing Links
Myanmar - ThailandMyanmar - India
China - Kyrgyzstan
ASEAN - China
Islamic Republic of Iran – Azerbaijan
(ongoing)
Thailand - Cambodia
Cambodia - Viet Nam
Thailand - Lao PDR(inaugurated March 2009)
Turkey - Georgia
(ongoing)
Islamic Republic of Iran – Armenia
Islamic Republic of Iran – Pakistan
(completed end 2008)
Building the missing linksCompleting the Trans-Asian Railway network
Islamic Republic of Iran – Afghanistan(ongoing)
US$ 24 billion
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Intermodal Transport and Integration
• Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway
• Integration of Highways and Railways• Development of Intermodal Interfaces
(ICDs and Dry ports)–connection to sea ports and maritime transport network–Development of dry ports along AH and TAR–Technical characteristics, guiding principle–Dedicated Freight Corridors–Encouraging modal shift
• Potential to develop Dry ports location as a centres for development
Working to Develop an Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports
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Facilitation of International Road Transport
ESCAP resolution: 48/11–seven transport facilitation conventions
Road Traffic, Road Signs and Signals TIR Conventions, Temporary Importation of Commercial
Vehicles, Customs Convention on Containers Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods, International
Carriage of Goods by Road
Conclusion of Bilateral/Subregional/Regional Transport Agreements
ASEAN+3, Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Shanghai Cooperation Organization -Intergovernmental
Agreement on International Road Transport with Multilateral Framework Agreement-TRACECA, ECO, SAARC Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (ADB) Euro-Asian Transport Linkages (EATL)
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Concluding Remarks• Intergovernmental Agreement
– Catalyst for regional and coordinated development:– Highways, Railways, Dry ports -Logistics facilities
• Utilize regional infrastructure for cross-border transport:– Good practices of transport operations in the region
• Financing and Investment Promotion
• Maintenance of the Highway
• Integration of various modes of transport, provision and operations of logistics services and increasing role of private sector
• UNESCAP ready to provide support the development of the Trans-African Highway
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