Barry Cable Director Transport and Tourism Division

1
1st Expert Group Meeting on Developing Euro-Asian
Transport Linkages 9-11 March 2004, Alamaty
Kazakhstan Strategy for Further Development of
Euro-Asian Transport Linkages

• Barry CableDirectorTransport and Tourism
  Division

2
Background to Developing Euro-Asian Transport
Linkages

• Developing countries constrained by inadequate
  transport infrastructure, legislation that
  differs from one country to another and
  time-consuming border procedures
• Opportunities for interregional transport not
  fully explored
• Five regional Commissions
• Capacity-building in developing interregional
  land and land-cum-sea transport linkages
  (2002-2006).

3
Expected accomplishments

• To identify important existing and potential
  interregional transport linkages
• To strengthen the capacities of national
  officials
• To put in operation efficient interregional
  transport linkages.

4
Strategic Vision for Euro-Asian Transport Links

• 2000, UNECE and UNESCAP put forward their Common
  ECE/ESCAP Strategic Vision for Euro-Asian
  Transport Links at the Second International
  Euro-Asian Conference on Transport
• 2001, with modification adopted by the UNECE
  Inland Transport Committee
• 2003, Third International Euro-Asian Conference
  on Transport endorses the vision as eventually
  integrated and harmoniously functioning
  Euro-Asian transport system
• Euro-Asian Corridors identified

5
Major Euro-Asian Corridors identified

• Transsiberian Europe (PETCs 2, 3 and 9)
  Russian Federation Japan, with branches to
• Kazakhstan China and Korean peninsula
• Mongolia China.
• TRACECA Eastern Europe (PETCs 4, 7, 8, 9)
  across Black Sea Caucasus across Caspian Sea
  Central Asia.
• Southern South-eastern Europe (PETC 4) Turkey
  Islamic Republic of Iran, with branches from
  Iran to
• Central Asia China
• South Asia South-East Asia/Southern China.
• North-South North Europe (PETC 9) Russian
  Federation, with branches to
• Caucasus Persian Gulf
• Central Asia Persian Gulf
• Across the Caspian Sea Islamic Republic of Iran
  Persian Gulf.

6
Strategy for the Euro-Asian transport system
development

• Formulation of integrated intermodal
  international Euro-Asian transport
  routes/corridors and networks.
• Formalization through international agreements or
  amendments to existing ones, as a basis for their
  coordinated development.
• Facilitation of transport at border-crossing
  based on relevant international conventions
• Establishing national transport/trade
  facilitation committees
• Analysis of routes/corridors to identify physical
  and non-physical barriers
• Operationalization through efficient arrangements
  and mechanisms for each international route

7
Strategy for the Euro-Asian transport system
development

• Introduction/development of modern information
  technology.
• Development of transport logistics.
• Development of Public-Private Partnerships
• Further development of efficient cooperation
  between international and other organizations
  involved.
• Particular attention to be given to needs of
  landlocked countries and economies in transition.

8
Major outputs of the project

• Infrastructure
• Routes (rail, road, intermodal) within each of
  the Euro-Asian Transport corridors identified
• Set of alternative transport routes (where
  appropriate) for each participating country
  identified
• Agreements on the routes reached between the
  countries concerned.

9
Major outputs of the project

• Facilitation/Border crossing
• National Trade and Transport Facilitation
  Committees established/ strengthened in the
  countries (TOR, Work Plans, Protocols)
• Actions initiated/persued to introduce and
  implement major relevant international
  conventions (UNECE, UNESCAP resolution 48/11...)
• Border-crossing points and route specific
  problems identified

10
Major outputs of the project

• Development needs identified
• Major physical and non-physical barriers
  identified through the UNESCAP methodology for
  international transport route analysis, including
  costs and time issues
• Possibility of transport of ISO and non-ISO (high
  cube) containers along each of Euro-Asian
  transport routes established (including container
  terminals, ICO, transshipment points/nodes)
• Priority development needs (needs of common
  domestic and international importance)
  identified
• Possible Public-Private Partnerships (PPP)
  approaches suggested
• Operation cooperative arrangements suggested

11
Formulation of interregional transport linkages
UNECE-UNESCAP-National Focal Points

• Extension of Pan-European Transport Corridors
  (PETCs) towards Asia
• Extension of Asian transport routes to Europe
• Euro-Asian Transport corridors, a starting point
  along with
• UNECE European Agreement on Main International
  Traffic Arteries (AGR) and UNESCAP Asian Highway
• UNECE European Agreement on Main International
  Railway Lines (AGC) and UNESCAP Trans-Asian
  Railway as the basis for the route alignments.
• TRACECA-ECO-OSJD Euro-Asian links also considered
  

12
Limitations to identification of linkages

• Not all links in these networks included in but
  only those most relevant within the four
  corridors.
• Countries are invited to propose routes
  considered Euro-Asian importance.
• Intermodal perspective, inland water routes and
  major seaports should also be considered together
  with inland container depots and border crossing
  facilities
• Focus on container traffic.
• At least three major origin/destination points in
  Europe (Central, Northern and Southern Europe)
  should be identified and agreed upon as basis for
  analysis.
• Air transport be excluded at the present time.

13
Considerations in identifying linkages

• Corridor Transsiberian
• Only railway routes to be considered ?
• Corridor TRACECA
• Railway-cum-sea (across the Caspian and Black
  Seas) route only ?
• Corridor Southern
• Rail, road and intermodal (rail-cum-road) routes
• Routes through South Asia and South-East Asia to
  China to be considered in follow-up phase of
  project.
• Corridor North-South
• Railway and rail-cum-sea (Caspian Sea) route
• Clarification should be sought with regard to
  roads.

14
Project schedule - 2004

• Identification of routes (March July 2004)
• technical specifications of the infrastructure
• operational information, including estimated
  traffic volume and
• Current/ongoing investment projects on routes
• UNECE and UNESCAP have prepared a draft
  questionnaire for consideration
• As far as possible, the secretariat will provide
  the NFPs with data available to assist
• Consolidation/analysis of data (July Sept 2004)
• Presentation of preliminary results (October
  2004)

15
Prioritization of investment projects

• Countries develop inventory of national projects
• UNECE/UNESCAP consolidate at interregional level
• Prioritization
• Consensus on linkages/route alignments
• Constitute elements of the corridors
• Included in UNECE/UNESCAP networks
• Do not meet minimum standards for international
  traffic
• Identified as a time/cost bottleneck

16
UNESCAP time-cost methodology to isolate,
identify bottlenecks
Time/cost
Distance
17
UNESCAP time-cost methodology to isolate,
identify bottlenecks
Time/ cost
Transport to border
Distance
18
UNESCAP time-cost methodology to isolate,
identify bottlenecks
Time/ cost
Border crossing
Distance
19
UNESCAP time-cost methodology to isolate,
identify bottlenecks
Transport to sea port
Time/ cost
Distance
20
UNESCAP time-cost methodology to isolate,
identify bottlenecks
Wait at sea port
Time/ cost
Distance
21
UNESCAP time-cost methodology to isolate,
identify bottlenecks
Sea transport
Time/ cost
Distance
22
UNESCAP time-cost methodology to isolate,
identify bottlenecks
Time/ cost
Distance
23
Comparison of border crossing time (hours)
300
250
200
Border
150
100
50
0
Lao-Thai
Lao-
Mongolia-
Mongolia-
Uzbekistan-
Nepal- India
Kazakhstan-
Vietnam
China
Russia
Russia
Turkmenistan
Average
Maximum
24
Comparison of border crossing costs (US per
TEU)
Cost/TEU
650
700
600
500
400
293
300
200
155
131
124
200
100
100
0
Mongolia-
Nepal- India
Uzbekistan-
Lao-Thai
Lao-
Mongolia-
Kazakhstan-
Vietnam
Turkmenistan
China
Russia
Russia
25
Project schedule - 2005

• Facilitation of transport along the Euro-Asian
  transport linkages (2005)
• Analysis of transit times and costs along routes
• cost/time/distance analysis be conducted to
  assess the physical and non-physical bottlenecks
• Capacity building and strengthening of
  implementation of the major international
  transport agreements and conventions by
  countries
• series of national (and/or subregional) workshops
  
• Strengthening of national trade/transport
  facilitation committees

26
Project schedule - 2006

• Establishment of a database with contact details
  of responsible experts and institutions involved
  in the Euro-Asian development aspects in
  consultation with member states, other
  development agencies and offices of the UN
  system.
• Creation of a website for the project (already
  initiated).
• Organization of workshop for sharing lessons
  learned across the Regional Commissions.

27
Thank you for your attention