The Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy (TTFS) for 2014-2020 aims at a more integrated approach for improving the transport and logistics infrastructure and for promoting the commercial activity in the CAREC region.
In order to increase trade in Central Asia, CAREC (Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation) will have to extend the corridors to the main gateways to the other markets and to implement an optimized approach for efficient management of corridors. For the development of long-distance multimodal transport ser-vices connecting the railway and road links with logistics centres, will require the allocation of investments.
The strategy will ensure continued development of the infrastructure corridor while the emphasis will be on improving the quality of logistics services and the increase of connectivity. “For the infrastructure, the emphasis is on the railway for the long-distance freight transport and, in case of services, the strategy aims the need for connectivity between the 6 CAREC corridors and the main ports providing access to global markets”, shows the strategy.
In order to provide quality services, it is vital to extend and complete the six multimodal corridors, whereas it is estimated that they will have to ensure a major market share in transport and trade in the region. After funding the projects and launching the operations, CAREC corridors will provide services that will contribute to the increase of national and regional competitiveness, productivity and mobility.
Of the 108 projects, 32 are in progress and 76 are new, and on the rail segment “the new railway investments include construction and infrastructure rehabilitation works, track doubling, optimization of signalling and electrification systems. The logistics investments will focus on connections between rail and road transport in the railway hubs and between rail and sea transport in the ports”, explains the TTFS.
According to the stock-take reports, “the share of the freight transit volume (tonnes) transported between Europe and Asia on CAREC corridors did not reach the 2% objective, but the volume of intraregional trade (between CAREC states) increased by 49%, exceeding the 25% growth target”, shows the report. As regards the railway infrastructure, 3,407 km of line were built, doubled or electrified within the TTFS programme.
In the increase of the commercial activity, railway transport plays an important role, offering options more efficient than road, especially on long distances.
“Although currently the dominant mode of transportation (by volume) in the freight transport in CAREC region is road, railway transport is the dominant mode of transport (80%) for export and transit needs. Also, the container trains have proven to be much more competitive compared to sea transport and, by costs, compared to air transport”.
There is an increasing number of trains partially providing scheduled transport services, which are organized by the private sector, based on the national railway transport to provide coordinated programmes.
“Most states in the region face deficiencies regarding the technology and the railway infrastructure quality, as well as delays in maintenance, including bottlenecks. This requires new railway links, as well as improvements of the rolling stock and cargo trains and mixed ones, the creation of more efficient operations and a better management of the cross-border links. The main railway corridors CAREC require further development in order to provide the conditions for a unified transport between the national railway systems”, mentions CAREC strategy.
Increase of freight volume, encouraged by investments in railway projects
CAREC 2020 has established the general strategic objectives focusing on the extension of the commercial activity and competitiveness optimization.
The improvement of the connectivity to markets requires the facilitation of the freight and passenger transport between CAREC state borders and the markets outside the region. This will allow the increase of the intraregional trade based on the pro-ximity of markets and the increase of the interregional trade with the states in Africa, East Asia, Europe and Middle East. Under the circumstances, establishing competitive corridors in CAREC region, facilitating the efficient freight mobility in the region and outside the region and developing a sustainable and safe transport system remain the main objectives of the strategy.
To stimulate the commercial activity and the freight volumes, the development of CAREC network (6 corridors) remains a priority. Some of the initially configured corridors remain incomplete, without connecting ports or intermodal hubs, which limits the efficiency of freight flow increase. The main corridor extensions include the development of the connectivity with the ports in the region and outside it, the introduction of alternative routes to reduce distances along the corridors, the deve-lopment of missing links, of the railway network serving the CAREC corridors, enabling them to obtain the advantages of long distance railway transport and the establishment of intermodal hubs to support effective delivery and freight collection.
In order to promote the international trade competitiveness, the revised strategy supports the development of regional railway system serving CAREC network. “Investments will be provided for the increase of railway capacity, including for the execution of new constructions, the line renewal and doubling, the optimization of signalling and electrification systems”.
The improvement of the railway transport will require not only sufficient capacity to enable the obstacle-free movement of trains, but also the coordination of cross-border transport to allow the programming of services from origin to destination. “Given the massive investments involved, the development of CAREC railway network will also continue after 2020.”
The fulfilment of the strategy goals will require the completion of the projects in progress and the implementation of new projects and the technical assistance ones. The strategy includes 108 investment projects with a total cost of USD 38.8 Billion and 48 technical assistance projects having an estimated cost of USD 74.6 Million. Out of the 108 projects, 76 are new and have a value of USD 21.4 Billion dollars and the 32 projects in progress amounting to USD 17.4 Billion.
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