Catalog

Freer Movement of People and Goods in the Mekong Subregion
ADB Review [ April-May 2006 ]

The GMS Cross-Border Transport Agreement promises to lower transport costs and increase tourism

By Ronald Antonio Q. Butiong (rabutiong@adb.org)
Programs Economist, Mekong Department
and
Le Dinh Thang, (ldthang@adb.org)
Project Implementation Officer, Viet Nam Resident Mission

BORDER CROSSING Pilot implementation of the Cross-Border Transport Agreement will begin in 2006 at Poipet, Cambodia (above); Sommad Pholsena, Lao PDR Vice Minister of Communication, Transport, Posts and Construction, and Pham The Minh, Viet Nam Vice Minister of Transport, inaugurate the CBTA pilot implementation at the Lao Bao border checkpoint (below)

Atruck loaded with goods made in Cambodia reaches the border with Thailand. Working together, Cambodian and Thai customs, quarantine, and immigration officials inspect the vehicle and allow it to pass. Minutes later, the truck is traveling through the Thai countryside toward its final destination in Bangkok.

That scenario—and similar ones around the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)—is what officials envision under the GMS Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA). Today, at many border crossings in the Mekong subregion, goods being trucked from one country to the next must be unloaded, inspected separately by authorities from both countries, and then reloaded into a separate vehicle at the border. This can take hours.

This agreement will allow Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam to ease the passage of people and goods across borders. It includes provisions for single-stop/ single-window inspection at border checkpoints, simplified visa formalities, exemptions from border inspections for goods in transit, and the exchange of traffic rights, which will allow vehicles registered in one country to operate in the neighboring country.

When the program is fully under way, these countries will enjoy lower transport costs, increased tourism, and greater opportunities for cross-border trade and investment.

The agreement complements a wide range of transport construction projects that will link key cities in the subregion. One key link is the 1,500-kilometer East-West Economic Corridor, a highway that connects Da Nang in central Viet Nam; Savannakhet in central Lao PDR; Mukdahan, Khon Kaen, and Phitsanulok in northern Thailand; and Mawlamyine in Myanmar.

By 2007, the sections of the highway in Thailand, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam will be upgraded, including the government of Japan-financed bridge connecting Lao PDR and Thailand at Savannakhet and Mukdahan.

To maximize the benefits of the highway, the governments of the countries through which it passes have agreed to expedite the CBTA at three key border crossings: Dansavanh, Lao PDR–Lao Bao, Viet Nam; Mukdahan–Savannakhet and Myawaddy, Myanmar–Mae Sot, Thailand.

“The actions being taken by the governments of the Mekong subregion will transform key road corridors into fullfledged economic corridors. People, goods, and vehicles will move more easily, and cross-border trade and investment will flourish,” says Mr. Rajat M. Nag, Director General of ADB’s Mekong Department.

The pilot implementation of the agreement at the Dansavanh–Lao Bao border crossing began on 30 June 2005. This involves, among other things, single-stop and single-window inspection, conducted in stages, where border authorities of both countries jointly and simultaneously carry out their duties only at the entry checkpoint, and no longer at the exit checkpoint. The two countries also have agreed on the exchange of traffic rights, which allows vehicles to move between them easily.

Some benefits of this pilot program are already being seen. Closer cooperation between agencies in each country is taking place, including agreement to share advanced information, which will allow faster clearance for low-risk cargoes. Processing times of people and cargo at the border have also improved as a result of the pilot program.

AGREEMENT The memorandum of understanding for the Bavet–Moc Bai border crossing is signed during the Second GMS Summit

“The implementation of the CBTA at the Dansavanh–Lao Bao border crossing is gradually transforming the East-West Economic Corridor into a land bridge,” says the Lao PDR Vice Minister of Communication, Transport, Posts, and Construction His Excellency Sommad Pholsena. “Lao PDR can now look forward to the day when the word ‘landlocked’ will have become a distant nightmare,” he added.

Vietnamese Vice Minister of Transport His Excellency Pham The Minh agrees: “Special and traditional relations between Viet Nam and Lao PDR, in general, and good relations between the two provinces of Quang Tri and Savannakhet, in particular, are firm foundations for Viet Nam and Lao PDR to help lead the way in the implementation of the CBTA.”

Similar programs to speed up border crossings will begin in 2006 in other border crossings throughout the Mekong region.

The finalization of the CBTA and its annexes and protocols, and the pilot implementation have been supported by ADB regional technical assistance to the Mekong countries. This initiative is part of the ADBsupported GMS Program of Economic Cooperation (www.adb.org/gms).

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