Building the ASEAN Community
Land Transport Infrastructure
Connecting ASEAN by Land
Building infrastructure networks that connects ASEAN by land would support greater intra- and inter-regional trade with more efficient and greater accessibility for goods and services. Both the private and public sectors are beneficiaries of a more connected region as it will lead to open access to an enlarged market, reduce transportation and trade cost, establish linkages with regional and global supply chains, and facilitate greater regional economic cooperation and integration
The completion of the ASEAN Highway Network (AHN) and the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) are identified as the flagship transport infrastructure projects on the priority agenda of the ASEAN transport cooperation.
The AHN links all ASEAN Member States by connecting 23 designated national highway routes with a total length of 38,400 km. To achieve this, the AHN project is working to upgrade all designated national routes to Class I standards by 2020, and low traffic volume non-arterial routes to at least Class II standards. As of 2014, the progress of the AHN project is at 39.17%, with about 2,169.5 km of the total 5,538.2 km of the upgrading of roads and missing links completed.
The SKRL spans a total length of 7,000 km railway line and will link major cities in eight countries, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and China. The SKRL has two lines, the Eastern Line through Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, with a spur line between Lao PDR and Viet Nam, and the Western Line through Thailand and Myanmar. To complete the SKRL, a total of 1,287 km of missing links will need to be constructed in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and 1,253 km of the links in Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand will require rehabilitation. As of 2014, 3.3% of the total construction of missing links has been completed.
The AHN and SKRL projects are the main land transport infrastructure for the region as they will link capitals, sea and air ports, and high potential areas for investment and tourism in ASEAN. They will enhance transport connectivity not only in and between the ASEAN Member States but also with neighbouring countries and beyond, as they would also be connected to the Asian Highway Network and the Trans-Asian Railway, respectively.
1. ASEAN Strategic Transport Plan
2. Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity For more information, please visit http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economiccommunity/category/overview-17 or send an email to aimo@asean.org
Source: asean.org
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