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Transport
Central Asia is a historical land bridge between East Asia and Europe, as well as South Asia and the Russian Federation. It has also a potential to become important transit routes connecting East/South Asia and Europe. Railways carry the majority of freight and interregional passengers, while roads are the dominant mode of transport for passenger traffic within the region. Civil aviation plays a key role in providing international access and linking major cities to the capitals. Waterway transport on the Caspian Sea links Baku in Azerbaijan and Aktau in Kazakhstan.
During the initial years after the breakup of the former Soviet Union in 1991, the Central Asian countries suffered severe economic difficulties and, as a result, traffic declined sharply and transport infrastructure deteriorated significantly. Since late 1990s, however, these countries have experienced economic recovery, which has resulted in the increase in volume of freight and passenger traffic. Railway traffic increased because of strong growth of trade activities. Road traffic rose due to the increase in vehicle ownership and improvement of the national and regional road networks. Air traffic grew as a result of rapid increases in external trade, tourists, and transit traffic between Asia and Europe.
The transport sector in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) countries faces the following key issues on regional transport:
- Inefficient cross-border and transit movement of people and goods due to excessive bureaucratic procedures and poorly equipped border posts. The cross-border procedures, formalities, and documentation (e.g., customs, immigration, and quarantines) at borders are not entirely based on international conventions or best practice, and are time-consuming, complicated, and expensive.
- Lack of unified transport regulations among CAREC countries. This includes lack of compatible standards based on international best practices (e.g. technical aspects, road clearance, axle load control, vehicle emission control, tariff, and traffic safety); road permit quotas for foreign vehicles that restrict competition; skewed rules for transport services; road user charges not related to costs of road use; discretionary tariff setting for railways; discriminatory transit fees; and limited private sector participation.
- Inadequate regional transport networks. The transport links in Central Asia need to meet the requirements of reoriented economic and trade ties with all countries in the region. There is a lack of the adoption of an integrated and regionally oriented multimodal transport approach in the planning and operation for transport infrastructure development. Roads connecting some production centers, markets, and ports are lacking. A large proportion of the existing regional transport infrastructure is deteriorating due to insufficient funding for maintenance.
- Lack of competition in railways due to the monolithic and monopolistic nature of the organizations. This has resulted in inefficient railway service, lack of commercial management of operations and investment, obsolete track and rolling stock, outdated internal telecommunications technology, excessive tariffs for international traffic, tariffs that do not separate movement and terminal costs, and lack of convenient billing systems and consignment information for shippers.
- Lack of regional approach in civil aviation and lack of commonality in aviation policy and liberalization prospects across the region. There is no uniform industry structure and ownership model in the region, and bilateral agreements are the predominant mode to regulate international air service. Intra-regional air service levels are low. There is also a fear that in a liberalized environment strong foreign airlines would undermine local industry participants.
- Limited institutional and human resource capacities in the transport sector. This is reflected by weak planning for public investment, inadequate design standards for transport investment projects, weak financial and project implementation management, and lack of effective monitoring and evaluation.
Role of Regional Cooperation
Transport cooperation among CAREC countries plays an important role in promoting sustainable economic growth and rapid poverty reduction. First, the regionally integrated transport system inherited from the past in Central Asia requires a regional approach to rehabilitation and development of the system. Second, regional cooperation can help develop regional transport networks to minimize location disadvantages and improve access to neighboring and developed markets. Third, regional cooperation can help reduce barriers to intraregional and transit traffic, lower transport costs, and improve transport services to overcome disadvantages of small national markets, thereby making the region more attractive for foreign and domestic investors as well as in support of new trade opportunities.
The CAREC Transport Sector Coordinating Committee (TSCC) was established in June 2004 to coordinate regional cooperation activities. It meets twice a year or as necessary to review cooperation progress and provide guidance on future work. A Regional Transport Sector Road Map (2005–2010) was developed and endorsed by the TSCC in March 2005 to guide transport cooperation activities among CAREC countries.
Strategy for Regional Cooperation in Transport
The CAREC Transport Sector Road Map (2005–2010) aims to develop an integrated and efficient transport system in CAREC countries in support of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. The Road Map sets six strategic priorities:
- Harmonization and simplification of cross-border transport procedures and documentation among CAREC countries to facilitate the movement of passengers and freight across borders.
- Harmonization of transport regulations among CAREC countries to create a level playing field for transport operators and promote efficiency and better services.
- Development and improvement of regional and international transport corridors to link production centers and markets within CAREC countries and to enhance CAREC countries’ access to neighboring regions and markets.
- Restructuring and modernization of railways to provide quality and efficient services through private sector participation and improved corporate governance.
- Improvement of sector funding and management to ensure that the regional transport network is developed, operated, and maintained properly.
- Incremental approach to liberalization of civil aviation, focusing on the adoption of bilateral agreements using common legislative clauses, with a view to expanding sub-regional agreements among neighboring countries, and potentially more widely in the long term. Enhancement of external inputs from all stakeholders, especially business and tourism, in aviation policy making.
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