Great Asian Highway Project – An Update

Started in 1959, the Asian Highway Project was a part of the Asian Highway Project like any other infrastructure project aimed at increasing connectivity for trade and travel, especially during a time when global linkages and integration was becoming stronger. Asian Highway Network project became one of the three pillars of Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development Project (ALTD) in 1991 as the project emphasised on the integration of land transport development and facilitation to promote international trade and tourism. The AH project therefore became a pivotal international infrastructure project not only because of its multilateral stakeholders but also became it aimed to link Europe and Asia through international road transport building in Asia.

AH project made significant progress in the first two decades (1960's and 1970's) because of two main reasons - as the economies liberalised and world got more integrated during the Cold War, the demand of reliable and efficient transport increased, especially in the Asian countries. The AH project tended to this increasing demand in a cost-effective manner, which is why most of the participant countries cooperated cohesively to make the project a success, as they had vested interest in it as it would help in moving large numbers of goods, services and people and bring in revenue. However, progress after two decades slowed down and the future of the project changed in 1992, when the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) endorsed the Asian Land Transport Infrastructure Development (ALTID) project comprising of the Asian Highway and the Trans-Asian Railway network. The Asian Highway Network, adopted in November 2003, has brought the project to a new turning point in its history.

Working Group on the Asian Highway to consider its implementation and any proposed amendments. The first meeting of the Working Group, which also provides a regional forum for the exchange of information and experiences in the development of a regional highway, was held in Bangkok on 14 and 15 December 2005. According to the data produced, approximately 6.5 billion US dollars is required to upgrade and improve surface condition of the selected roads with total length of 15,842 km. While projects like these are ambitious, building an international network is a huge task as it is expensive and a time-consuming exercise given that the geography, terrains, and climate, among other things needs to be taken under consideration. Due to this, the member countries agreed that the main focus of the project would be to coordinate the development and upgrading of existing regional highways among the member countries. For the same, AH would therefore include only major highways which have the potential of maximum connectivity, thereby avoiding the construction of highways from scratch, unless necessary. The participating countries agreed on some basic underlying principles and obligations they would subscribe to. Only the roads with following functions or roles would be developed -

·        Roads which had capital to capital links as they would promote international transport and integration.

·        Roads connecting to major sea and river ports as it would integrate land and sea transport networks

·        Roads connecting industrial and agricultural centres as it would promote linkages between areas of economic activity

·        Roads between major container terminals and depots to integrate rail and road networks

·        Connections between major tourist attractions to promote tourism.

The AH network has a route numbering system. The one-digit routes are the highway routes which cross many countries in more than one region, while the two-digit routes numbers are given to indicate the routes within one subregion. The three-digit route numbers are given to the highway which connect one digit and two-digit highways. The current AH network extends from Tokyo in the east to Kapikule, Turkey in the west and from Torpynovka, Russian Federation, in the north, to Denpasar, Indonesia in the south. The AH has had a positive impact on the many countries due to the development of the roads. It has not only provided to be a coordinated system of developing roads network through a common design and technical standards, but has also generated greater interest among the countries to cooperate in the domain of connectivity. The AH project has also enhanced the inter country trade connectivity, which has also led to the countries now taking a deep interest in developmental banks which finance the regional road projects along with other infrastructural projects. Asia is the largest continent in the world and also one of the most populated. It is with this hope to create a future of connectivity for Asians that the AH project aimed to foster development for its people.

The AH network does not have missing links. There might be some projects which are not completed due to the ongoing pandemic, or few of the bridges which are yet to be made. While all the roads meet the minimum standards and guidelines set up in the agreement, the quality of highways would vary and be uneven. While some states are capable of mobilising more resources to fulfil the obligations of the agreement, other states need developmental assistance from multilateral and bilateral donors, as well as other financial institutions. According to the AH database, around 11,000 km (8% of the total) of the roads in the network do not meet the minimum desirable standards in 2014 (the latest updated area).

According to a gravity model base study done by Edmonds for the Greater Mekong Subregion, it was observed that cross border infrastructure has a positive impact on the interregional trade and cooperation across borders. Scholars have also carried extensive research to understand the gains from the development of AH network. A CGE study by Francois and Wignaraja (2008) examined that if East and South Asia are linked through a comprehensive trade agreement and increased regional infrastructure is developed for the same, then the trade costs would decrease and investments in the domain of trade would amplify. The AH network has paved way for development of intermodal transport systems which have immense potential to not only act as example for such projects in future but also portray the promise to make transport system economically and environmentally more useful.

While many countries have increased their investments in the projects and bought in a renewed focus like India which has been pivotal in developing road connectivity with Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and even Thailand in past few years, the progress is slower than estimated. Apart from 8% of the roads not meeting the minimum requirements, it is estimated that further financing is needed to upgrade the remaining AH networks. It has been proven that for most of the countries, especially given the ongoing pandemic, regular allocations from their budgets would not be possible. Some countries have been successful in leveraging and bringing in new financial stakeholders, but they are only concentrating on developing connectivity in their own country or in countries from which they can benefit. While additional financing has been sought from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and it has contributed in the progress of the project, there is a need to seek other alternatives and innovative investments for transport development as it is not enough.

The goal of the AH is to facilitate greater connectivity between countries, but physical connectivity alone cannot win the race. There needs to be a legal and economic institution which not only supervises the project but also takes care of disputes related to the project. The institution would also be responsible for regulating the flow of people and traffic of goods and services across the border, and would help in identification of the networks which are of utmost priority so that they are given preference. While there have been several agreements which have been signed and have made progress in terms of bringing the participatory countries on a single forum, there has been lack of political willingness among the countries due to various reasons. But the resolution of building a connectivity project like the AH requires negotiating and accommodating the needs of the partners in a deeper way. When this is done, it will be easier to tackle the investment needs which are huge, especially given the current situation when all the countries are dealing with pandemic stagnation in their economies. The success of the AH network not only depends upon its completion but also on the possibility of it helping in the welfare of several people across the region of Asia, and the sooner the national governments realise this, the quicker the progress of the project will be.

Pic Courtesy- United Nations, 2007

(the views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)