Regions and Countries

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p. 4 of 22 BACK | NEXT I. Summary II. Background and Rationale A. The Need for Economic Cooperation in Central Asia B. The Soviet Legacy in Infrastructure—A Connecting Thread throughout the Region C. Present Day Borders Cross Economic Zones D. Regional Responses to Regional Needs III. The ADB Initiative Towards Economic Cooperation in Central Asia IV. Sector Priorities and the Proposed Program 2001-2003 V. Addressing Poverty and Governance and other Cross-Cutting Concerns VI. Issues and Challenges

Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation : II. Background and Rationale

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B. The Soviet Legacy in Infrastructure—A Connecting Thread throughout the Region

13. Economic integration of the Central Asian Soviet republics within the Soviet Union, and the inclusion of these republics in a common administrative region for planning purposes, did not lead to sufficient investments in infrastructure to facilitate intra- or inter-republic integration and trade after independence. The location of railroads and pipelines, in particular, was designed to take raw materials to specific processing plants specified by the Soviet planners, rather than to local processing plants. Railroad transportation in the former Soviet republics was relatively well developed; road transportation, on the other hand, was less developed. Intra-urban public transportation was extensive, but inter-city transportation, especially automobile transportation, was not a high priority of Soviet planners. As a result, no highway crossed the entire east-west length of the Soviet Union.

14. Specifically with respect to the CARs, all population centers and even remote manufacturing or processing centers are connected by some leg of the former Soviet transportation system. However, there are often no simple connections from any one point in one country to another point in the same country—road and rail links often crisscross existing borders. Thus even local traffic may necessitate border crossing and barriers to cross-border transit may affect local life. With the lack of maintenance and upkeep since the breakup of the former system, the physical infrastructure is showing signs of obsolescence and does not support the needs of the emerging economies of the region. Rebuilding, restructuring, and reorganizing this infrastructure is a priority for all governments in the region, and is an essential foundation for regional economic cooperation.

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