INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT SERVICES IN GMS

MR. ROBERT ANDERSON AND MR. ANTHONY BAYLEY

Road Corridors Operating Conditions

Location
CAMBODIA

Asset Management Status

Core issues include lack of road maintenance and truck overloading. Periodic maintenance using private sector contractors for pavement overlays moving forward. Many road sections and bridges pose reliability risks due to shortfall in funding of routine and periodic maintenance. The Road Fund concept has taken hold and showing signs of success. General lack of road and bridge maintenance along most major road corridors. Lack of bridge capacity at numerous large river crossings. Inadequate road geometry on many corridors.

LAO PDR

MYANMAR

PRC

Major corridors served by existing and planned expressways. Road corridors generally in good operating condition and adequately maintained, although roads in Yunnan funded at 70% of required level.
Best developed and maintained road network in GMS. Major corridor roads are high speed 4-lane and 6-lane highways. Controlled access expressway network development has not been developed. National roads absorb disproportional amount of maintenance budget funding; little remains for secondary roads. Traffic safety and coastal flooding of highways are also core problem areas.

THAILAND

VIET NAM

Transport Corridor Network

Corridor Termini (Countries served) Importance to GMS Trade North-South Connectivity (5 corridors) North-South Eastern Central Kunming, Bangkok (PRC, MYA, LAO, THA) Kunming, Nanning, Hanoi, Haiphong/ HCMC (PRC, VIE) Kunming ,Vientiane, Sihanoukville Laem Chabang (PRC, LAO, CAM, THA) Tamu, Mawlamyine (MYA; a link to N-S Corridor in THA) Thanh Hoa, Bangkok, Laem Chabang (VIE, LAO, THA) GMS trade facilitation backbone corridor in northsouth direction GMS trade facilitation section important between Kunming and Haiphong and in vicinity of HCMC Important GMS trade section is Vientiane to Bangkok/Laem Chabang, and from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville Will become important for GMS trade particularly road sections serving Yangon city and port Somewhat ill-conceived corridor. Not likely to facilitate much GMS trade in near or long term

Western Northeastern

East-West Connectivity (4 corridors) Northern Nanning, Kunming, Tamu (PRC,MYA) Mawlamyine, Dong Ha, with Da Nang link (MYA,THA,LAO,VIE) Dawei, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Quy Nonh/ HCMC, Vung Tau (MYA,CAM,VIE) Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Sihanouk-ville, Nam Can (THA, CAM, VIE) Well-conceived corridor for regional cooperation / connectivity, but not likely to facilitate much GMS trade. Well-conceived corridor for regional cooperation/ connectivity, but limited as a driver of GMS trade. GMS trade facilitation backbone corridor in eastwest direction (following central subcorridor only) Minor corridor for GMS trade facilitation, except near vicinity of port of Laem Chabang and to lesser extend near port city of Sihanoukville.

EastWest Southern Southern Coastal

Primary Trade Routes: Constraints and Gaps -1

Identified Trade Route
Trade Route 1: North-South Corridor via Lao PRD, near Bangkok/Laem Chabang and south extension of corridor at Malaysian border Trade Route 2: Southern Corridor between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City via AH1, on Thai and Vietnamese sections

Bottlenecks and Gaps

Bottleneck along the southern extension of NorthSouth Corridor, between Hat Yai and Sadao at Thai-Malaysian border. Bottlenecks at Aranyaprathet-Poipet Border Crossing along Southern Corridor Phnom Penh at the convergence of the Southern and Central Corridors, and the Mekong River

Trade Route 3: Thailand section of Central Corridor between Bangkok/Laem Chabang and Vientiane via AH2 Trade Route 4: Yangon-Mandalay route (AH1), incorporating the Payagi Meiktila section of Western Corridor

Bottleneck along congested Highways 3 and 7 near Laem Chabang Port; and Potential bottleneck at Luang Prabang where the Central and Northeast Corridors and the Mekong River all converge No major bottlenecks or gaps initially identified

Primary Trade Routes: Constraints and Gaps - 2

Identified Trade Route
Trade Route 5: Bangkok to Payagi via Mae Sot-Myawaddy combining North South and Western Corridors

Bottlenecks and Gaps

Gap along East-West Corridor and Western Corridor requiring upgrading of the Kawkareik to Thaton and Thaton to Payagyi Roads Bottleneck at the Mae Sot-Myawaddy Border Crossing Possible bottlenecks in access roads to Yangon Port No major bottlenecks or gaps initially identified

Trade Route 6: Northern Corridor between Kunming and Nanning Trade Route 7: Eastern Corridor between Kunming and Haiphong via AH14

No major bottlenecks or gaps initially identified

Trade Route 8: Central Corridor between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville via AH11

Bottleneck at Phnom Penh at the convergence of the Southern and Central Corridors, and the Mekong River (also identified under Trade Route 2)

Assessment of Transport Services in GMS Trade

Role of Freight Transport

Efficient transfer on cargo between point of despatch

and point of delivery, either domestically or internationally Transport is a demand responder not a traffic creator but can have indirect impact on demand based on efficiency Modal competition is based on service standards which are in turn based on cost/time/reliability (C/T/R) parameters Competition is mainly within modes rather than between modes

GMS Airfreight

Growing but volumes small Only minimal intra-GMS traffic Demand concentrated mainly in

Thailand and Vietnam Good international connectivity

GMS Maritime Transport

Maritime transport not linear thus making trading

with distant markets as attractive as closer markets Carries 90% GMS overall trade by weight with volumes dominated by bulk shipments of oil and oil products, coal, cement, steel and rice Carries 75% of intra-GMS trade by weight due bulk shipments, lower transport costs and dominance of demand along seaboards Major growth in size and reliability of container services and ports (Laem Chabang and Saigon Port)

GMS Road Transport

Dominance of small entities with low performance

levels in many countries with shortage of large modern transport fleets, except in Thailand and to lesser extent in Vietnam High cost due to traffic imbalances and choke points Lack of through transport is constraint but major problem is limited demand for international services and slow improvements in trade facilitation

GMS other transport modes

Rail Not a major freight carrier due to limited

international connectivity Not yet competitive in C/T/R terms Inland Waterways Important in movement of aggregates, raw materials and rice in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar but limited application in other countries Problem of seasonal water levels

Implications of assessment on GMS corridor development concept

Busiest trade freight sections of GMS corridors tend to be close to the ports Maritime transport is and will continue to be dominant even for intra-GMS trade Dominant role of road transport is feeding traffic to and from ports, rather than through land borders Importance of connectivity between port and corridors linked to industrial/manufacturing, agro-industrial centers Consideration of concept of ports as gateways and corridors as links along supply chains and concentrations of demand

Thank you