Catalog

Bumpy Road to the People's Republic of China
ADB Review [ October 2005 ]

The southern Silk Road to the People’s Republic of China is largely unpaved and can be tortuous to traverse. But its reopening has seen rapid growth in the flow of goods and services between Central Asia and its eastern neighbor

By Ian Gill, (igill@adb.org)
Principal External Relations Specialist

HOOFING IT A girl and her donkey on the road to the People’s Republic of China— could be faster than a truck

OSH, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

Truck driver Arifzhan Tashlanbaev has an easygoing nature, which is handy as he and his wife have a family of five daughters. It also helps in his job, which involves driving along one of the most challenging roads in Central Asia.

Several times a month, the 37-year-old Uzbek hauls scrap metal along the scenic but rugged 262-kilometer (km) road from Osh, the biggest southern city of the Kyrgyz Republic, to Irkeshtam on the border of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

BRISK BUSINESS Truck driver Arifzhan Tashlanbaev has been stuck on the road for nearly a week in winter

He makes the return journey through the mountains with PRC goods such as television sets, shoes, and clothing.

Even after independence, the Irkeshtam pass—gateway to Kashgar, capital of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region—was for a long time open only to commercial traffic and for limited periods each month. But since the summer of 2002, it has also been open to passenger traffic. Large sections of the road are still unpaved, however, and the bumpy ride can be tortuous, especially in winter.

“I get a lot of punctures and sometimes the truck has to be pulled out of potholes,” says Mr. Tashlanbaev, with a grin. “With two drivers, we can cover 300 km to the border and back in 24 hours; but during a winter blizzard, sometimes we wait up to a week in one 75-km section because the road is closed.”

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES PROVIDER Baarkan Ergesheva rents three times as many trucks as before

Despite the conditions, Mr. Tashlanbaev is among a growing number of haulers along the old Silk Road.

Although concerned that the PRC’s cheaper exports might threaten their goods, generally Central Asia is keen to benefit from the PRC’s desire to develop strong ties with the region, with its large energy reserves and strategic links to Europe. The Kyrgyz Republic, a mountainous land with a narrow manufacturing base, has less to lose than others from lowering trade barriers (it is, for example, the first Central Asian country to join the World Trade Organization).

The impact of PRC trade is clearly evident in the bustling market at Karasu—30 km outside Osh—which teems with traders from all over Central Asia and Russia.

OPEN TRADE Most consumer goods and toys offered at the Karasu market are PRC products (above and below)

She used to rent 5–6 trucks a month to journey to the border, but today that number has risen to 15 or 16 a month—despite increased competition.

Ms. Ergesheva, a former school principal who switched to trading after seeing her salary and pension crumble, says the influence of the PRC is growing rapidly in this part of the world.

“The number of PRC businesses in Osh and Karasu has grown enormously in the past few years,” she says. “When the upgrading of the road to the PRC is finished, trade will explode.”

The Kyrgyz Republic has a northern trade route with the PRC from Bishkek through Naryn to the Torugart Pass. But the southern link is rapidly gaining popularity, especially since the two halves of the country, divided by mountain ranges, have been joined by an all-weather road that can be crossed in winter.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has rehabilitated much of the 650-km road between Bishkek and Osh. It is now also providing a loan of $32 million (with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund contributing another $4 million) to upgrade nearly half of the PRC road between Osh and Irkeshtam. Meanwhile, the PRC is already repairing a stretch of this road on the Kyrgyz side of the border.

PAVING THE WAY A PRC contractor is upgrading the road between Osh and Uzgen; more bids are expected

Even before the highway is completely surfaced, PRC enterprises are making their presence felt. Drawn by the fertile Ferghana Valley, 2,000 PRC enterprises are already registered in Osh, according to a PRC trade association. Osh is enjoying a boom as a result.

PRC service companies and traders are also coming over the mountains. Recently, a PRC construction firm won an ADB contract to repair the road between Osh and Uzgen.

“This is one of the first times PRC nationals have won a road contract in the Kyrgyz Republic and they are bidding for another project,” says Marat Miyarov, a manager from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Transport and Communications. “This firm is performing within budget and generally within the time schedule.”

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