Presentation made at 3rd Northeast Connectivity Summit,2016 on Trans Asian overland connectivity ; the progress so far by Ms. Saroj Ayush,UNESCAP

1. ASIAN LAND CONNECTIVITY
North East Connectivity Summit
AGARTALA
22 SEPTEMBER 2016
SAROJ AYUSH

2. Opportunities for NE Region to Promote Regional Connectivity
• Transport Projects – Identified corridor development projects under the BIMSTEC’s
Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study (BTILS), particularly 35 and 12 priority
projects identified for road and rail out of about 166 total projects.
• Complementary developments
- The Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA)
signed in June 2015
- The India Myanmar Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway and the upcoming IMT
MVA
• Overlapping multilateral connectivity projects and opportunities for resource
mobilisation
- SAARC and ASEAN Corridors
- SASEC Corridors
- GMS Corridors
- BCIM Corridor: Kolkota-Kunming
- Delhi-Hanoi Rail Link

3. Challenges to Connectivity
• Transport infrastructure investment gaps and inadequate resource
mobilisation (BTILS projects are estimated to require mobilization of not less that US$ 50
billion, while soft loans and grants may cover only upto 40% of the requirement)
• Lack of coordination among various subregional connectivity projects in
Southern Asia (eg: IMT Trilateral Highway linking Moreh (India) with MaeSot (Thailand) which
is part of AH 1 and AH2 overlaps with segments of BIMSTEC corridors, BCIM corridor)
• Poorly developed soft connectivity and facilitation including lack of region-
wide transit and transport agreements
• Lack of initiatives for capacity building, training and sharing of knowledge
resources
• Need for broader cross-subregional connectivity not addressed

4. Benefits of Broadening Connectivity
• Promote development of regional production networks
o Wider connectivity networks enhance sourcing options for upstream firms and chances of
market participation for downstream firms in the value chain
o Efficiency of regional sourcing of inputs will increase proportionately with reach of regional
transport networks to as many downstream production units as possible
• Maximize network externalities
• Immense possibilities of inter-regional connectivity across Eurasia
o Besides facilitating intraregional trade Southern Asia can become a hub of East-West trade
• Major boost for least developed and landlocked countries and lagging
subregions
• Easier to mobilize resources for infrastructure and institutional development in
a broader regional framework
o Synergies between overlapping corridor development programmes
o Avoid duplication of investments

5. How Broader Multimodal Connectivity in the Asia-Pacific Envisaged by
UNESCAP can Help
• Intergovernmental Agreements on Asian Highways
(2003), Trans-Asian Railways (2011) and Dry Ports
(2013)
• AH, TAR and Dry Ports Networks envisaged as tools for
multimodal integration of transport corridors in the
Asia-Pacific level
• Multimodal transport integration through policy
frameworks for harmonizing both hard (physical) and
soft (policy) infrastructure
• Fostering collaboration between subregional
organizations for coordination of subregional transport
development projects
• Follow a building block approach as a part of an agreed
Connectivity Master Plan

6. • Two UNESCAP proposals linking the transport corridors of south and
south west Asia
– Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad—Delhi-Kolkota-Dhaka-Yangon (ITI-DKD-Y)
container train corridor along the Trans-Asian Railway routes
– Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India-Bangladesh-Myanmar (TIPI-BM) road
corridor along Asian Highway routes
Connectivity in Southern Asian Corridors

7. ITI-DKD-Y Inter-modal Container Corridor
Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad-Delhi-Kolkata-Dhaka-Yangon
• Forms the trunk route
of Southern Corridor
• Part of TAR Network
• Provides Multimodal
transport links
• Linked with INSTC,
SASEC, CAREC, BCIM,
and other important
subregional corridors
• Minimal infrastructural
improvement required

8. Trans Asian Rail Route

9. 9
Inter-Linkages of Regional Transport Corridors

10. Cost of Transport through ITI-DKD-Y
A Linear Comparison

11. Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India-Bangladesh-Myanmar (TIPI-BM)
Road Corridor along Asian Highway
• Part of AH Network
• Provides Multimodal
transport links
• Linked with INSTC,
SASEC, CAREC, BCIM,
and other important
subregional corridors
• Overlaps with BIMSTEC
projects

12. Asian Highway 1 – NE States and Bangladesh

13. 13
UNESCAP Resources for Integrated Transport and
Trade Facilitation
• Regional Cooperation Framework adopted for AH and TAR
networks;
• Models for secure and efficient border-crossings and transit
• Provide policy guidelines for integrating transport and trade
facilitation programmes
• Guidelines for formulating bilateral/subregional
agreements to standardize operations
• Guidelines for adoption of new technologies
• Guidelines for simplifying intermodal interfaces
• Encourage participation of member countries in
international transport conventions

14. Towards A Connectivity Master Plan
Elements of the Connectivity Master Plan
• Stock taking of physical infrastructure requirements of trunk corridors and their
sublinks
• Strategy for institutional cooperation between governmental agencies and
multilateral bodies for implementing region wide transit and transport
agreements
• Plan for building synergies between ongoing corridor development projects in
the Southern and Central Asia subregion
• Plan for ICT development and digitization of documentation required for cross-
border transit and transport in the subregion
• Plan for resource mobilization and framework for cooperation in this regard
between governmental and multilateral agencies and the private sector
14

15. UNESCAP activities on the transport connectivity for economic
integration in Southern Asia
• Identification of transport corridors linking Southern Asia
and beyond
• Fostering collaboration between subregional
organizations such as ASEAN, BIMSTEC, ECO, SAARC
• Models of secured and efficient cross-border crossing
• Policy dialogues in support of greater connectivity and
facilitation
– Dhaka (June 2013), Lahore (December 2013), New Delhi (November
2014), Tehran (December 2015): strong endorsement of the ITI-
DKD-Y Corridor and masterplan proposal
– Connectivity and Development of Border Areas (Shillong, India,
2013 and 2016)
– Series of national workshops on secure cross-border transport
models in SASEC countries (2014) jointly with ADB
– Work on connectivity masterplan and Project on South Asia-Central
Asia transport connectivity: 2015-16

16. Way Forward
• Recognize the criticality of regional transport connectivity in the context of
importance of regional economic integration as a new engine for Asia’s
dynamism
• Adopting a masterplan approach to be developed in phases
– Prioritize physical infrastructure development
– Closing the infrastructure gaps and upgradation of others
– Address transport facilitation bottlenecks
– Regional transit agreements to enable cross border movements
• Exploit the strategic location of Southern Asia to emerge as a hub of the East-
West trade
• Mobilizing resources for infrastructure development
– Multilateral development banks, ppp funding and development of regional
financial architecture
• Realize the vision of an integrated Southern Asia economic space connected
with itself and rest of the region

17. 17
Available at
http://www.unescap.org
Thank you