1

Regional Transport Connectivity for

Sustainable Development

Madan B. Regmi, DEng

Transport Division

UNESCAP, Bangkok

7th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum 23-25 April 2013, Bali

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Outline:

Trade, transport and logistics development

Status of transport connectivity in Asia

Resilient transport connectivity

Long haul intermodal transport

Concluding remarks

3

Pattern of Intra-Asian trade

Trade Statistics

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Val

ue

(in

mill

ion

US$

)

Exp-ASEAN to China Imp-ASEAN from China

Exp-ASEAN to India Imp-ASEAN from India

Exp-China to CentralAsia Imp-China from CentralAsia

Exp-China to India Imp-China from India

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Rail and Road Density

Infrastructure Density 2009

0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.55.05.56.06.57.07.58.08.59.09.5

10.0

China Iran, Islamic

Rep.

Japan Kazakhstan Korea, Rep. Pakistan Russian

Federation

Turkey

km(s

) p

er

1,0

00

Po

pu

lati

on

Rail Density (Rail Length/1,000 Populations)

Road Density (Road Length/1,000 Populations)

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Growth of Railways, road and vehicles

Growth Rate

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

China Iran Japan Kazakhstan ROK Pakistan Russian

Federation

Turkey

Rail Lines (1990-2010) Road (1990 - 2010) Vehicles (1993-2008)

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Logistics Performance Index, 2012

1. Customs, 2. Infrastructure, 3. International shipments, 4.

Logistics competence, 5. Tracking and tracing, 6. Timeliness

4.1

3

3.0

2

2.5

6 3

3.4

9

2.5

2.3

7

3.1

8

2.9

4

3.9

3

3.5

2

3.0

8

3.7 3.7

3

2.3

8

2.4

1

2.4

2

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Sin

gapo

re

Phi

lippi

nes

Cam

bodi

a

Vie

tnam

Mal

aysi

a

Lao

PDR

Mya

nmar

Thai

land

Indo

nesi

a

Japa

n

Chi

na

Indi

a

Kor

ea, R

ep.

Aus

tral

iaPNG

Sol

omon

Is.

Fiji

Countries

LP

I, 2

012

(World Bank, 2012)

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Transport Connectivity in Asia

Two aspects of sustainability Contribution of connectivity to sustainable development Making transport connectivity sustainable

Regional connectivity Regional transport networks: Asian Highway, Trans-Asian railway,

Logistics centres and dry ports

Subregional and Inter-subregional connectivity ASEAN, SAARC, GMS, ECO, CAREC, SASEC ASEAN-China ASEAN- South Asia North East Asia - Central Asia South Asia-China

Intercity connectivity Roads, rails, high speed rails

Rural connectivity Farm to market roads, rural roads

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Asian Highway

Need US$ 18b to upgrade

10,000 km of AH routes

•Intergovernmental Agreement, 29 Parties

143,000 km, 32 States

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Myanmar - Thailand

Myanmar - 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)

Trans-Asian Railway Network

Islamic Republic of Iran – Afghanistan

(ongoing)

US$ >25 billion

117,000 km, 28 countries

10,500 Km Missing Links

22 signatories, 18 Parties

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Logistics

centres and

Dry Ports

•Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry

Ports

•Adoption at the 69th session of

Commission, 25 April – 1 May 2013

•Opening for signature 7-8 November

2013 during Forum of Asian Minister of

Transport

240 dry ports of

international importance

110 potential location

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Cross-border connectivity

Much focus on hard infrastructure

Many forms of barriers to cross-border transport Inconsistent and time consuming, costly border crossing formalities and

procedures;

Restriction/limitation on entry of vehicles;

Transshipment needed at the border;

Difficult and different process for transit traffic;

Differential/reciprocal tariffs/charges;

Incompatible working hours at borders;

Coordination among various stake holders; and

Excessive security checks

Need to give more focus on streamlining procedures and “soft” issues

Single window system

Corridor based approach

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Intercity connectivity

Intercity highways, expressways, railways NHDP, China

High speed rail gaining popularity Thailand-intercity connectivity

China- connecting major cities – 9,300 km

Singapore- Malaysia

China-Lao PDR

Lao PDR-Viet Nam

Nepal -East-west railway development plan

India- Dedicated freight corridors

Use of coastal shipping and inland waterways

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Rural connectivity

Rural roads India, China, Viet Nam, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Contributes to employment generation, poverty reduction and sustainability,

Improve access to market, health services and education

Mostly unpaved road

Explore low cost pavement options

Many rural roads - poorly engineered and maintained

High operation and rehabilitation cost

Policies for maintenance of roads and rural roads

Involve communities

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Resilient Transport Connectivity

Frequent disasters, extreme climate events, sea level rise- Thailand Flood, Japan earthquake

Damage to transport infrastructure and affect services

Planning for resiliency of critical infrastructure

Higher design standards and review of guidelines

Height of bridges, embankments, drains

Coastal transport infrastructure

Vulnerable location and high risk areas

Life cycle costing

Transport network redundancy- for disaster relief operation

Reliance on one mode to the concept of multi-modal transport

Network hierarchy- prioritization

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Long haul intermodal transport

Optimal use of road, rail, maritime transport, logistics centres and dry ports

Integration of different modes Farm to market, manufacturing center connectivity Rail based intermodal transport can relieve road congestion Potential emissions reduction

Consolidation – reduce less than truck loads runs and reduce number of trucks

Improved logistics can reduce 10-20% emissions (OECD, 2010) Consolidation and distribution centres in UK have combined 25.7%

emissions reduction (Zanni and Bristow, 2009). Replacement of trucks by freight train from port to dry port in

Sweden led to 25% CO2 emission reduction (Roso, 2007). 43% of freight modal shift to railways, 30% less CO2 emission

(Laos-Thailand corridor)

Regional economic development: industrial centres, free trade areas

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Concluding remarks: The way forward to enhance sustainable connectivity

Utilize existing regional infrastructure and facilitate cross-border transport/trade

Promote regional intermodal transport

Prioritize maintenance of transport infrastructure

Revive inland waterways and use coastal shipping

Plan for resilient infrastructure

Invest in infrastructure to improve connectivity particularly railways

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