MOC-ADB Ministerial Conference Rural Roads Development and Poverty
Impact of Area Wide Road Networks
(TA4322-PRC)
Opening Remarks by
H. Satish Rao
DG EARD
25-26 July 2006, Beijing
Wen DG Dong
Honorable Vice Minister
Ju Kuilin
Deputy Director General
Mr. Feng Baoshan
Distinguished Delegates from the
State Council, NDRC, and MOF Distinguished
Delegates from the Provinces
Ladies and Gentlemen Good morning and warm welcome to you.
1. On behalf of the ADB, I would like to thank you all for joining
this important conference to discuss Rural Road Development and
outcome of TA4322-PRC on Poverty Impact of Area Wide Road Networks.
2. The PRC and ADB have recently celebrated the 20th anniversary
of our partnership. Over the years, we have together achieved very
successful collaboration in the road sector. In the years ahead,
we look forward to further strengthening our fruitful partnership.
3. The PRC's recent history is a remarkable success story of rapid
economic growth and poverty reduction. Integral to this success
story is the development of high-quality roads that link key economic
centers through the National Trunk Highway System (NTHS). ADB feels
privileged to have contributed to the development of this system.
4. Despite its impressive achievements, the PRC still faces several
challenges. Prominent among these challenges is the need to address
the issue of rural poverty, much of which is associated with the
geographical isolation of poor. This geographical isolation severely
limits the access of the rural poor to markets, employment and services,
and leaves them bypassed by much of the growth process.
5. A major factor that contributes to this isolation is the lack
of adequate transport links between poor rural areas and neighboring
townships and cities. Improving rural roads can play a significant
role in reducing this isolation, thereby stimulating economic activity
and helping to reduce poverty. There is wide-spread evidence that
the poor regard the provision of rural roads as the key infrastructure
development needed to accelerate socioeconomic development, provide
access to services and improve their quality of life.
6. The importance of rural infrastructure development is well demonstrated
by the PRC's impressive progress to date in reducing poverty, particularly
in rural areas of the coastal and central regions.
7. The announcement, in 2005, of government's rural road development
plan represents a major step forward in the fight to reduce rural
poverty. By investing over $100 billion in the construction or improvement
of over 1.2 m km of rural roads, the plan will enhance the wide
spread of the benefits of economic growth, and will support the
rural areas in their efforts to grow and prosper, through enabling
markets to develop and function efficiently, and by creating the
enabling environment necessary for the success of the country's
poverty reduction strategy.
8. This major expansion of the rural road network will bring with
it certain policy challenges. If it is to contribute to the eradication
of poverty, there is strong need for the transport system to be
efficient, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable,
environmentally sound, and safe.
9. The challenges for policy-makers in the transport sector are
complex and multi-dimensional. Many of the interrelated issues fall
outside the traditional policy focus of road development. There
is a need therefore to develop a comprehensive policy framework
to create a sustainable and balanced transport system. This will
require a number of issues to be addressed.
10.First, it will be necessary to adopt an integrated approach to
the planning of road transport infrastructure and services, in order
to incorporate stakeholder concerns and the protection of environment,
as well as consideration of economic and equity issues.
11. Second, there is a need for an efficient road maintenance and
asset management system. Government agencies invest billions of
dollars in building the road network. Given this, the road network
represents a major national asset that contributes significantly
to economic activity with the country. In order to ensure that this
asset can continue to contribute to the development of the country,
it is vital that it is maintained in good condition. If the condition
of the road network is allowed to deteriorate, much of the benefit
gained from the original investment will be lost.
12. Third, innovative approaches are needed to address the issue
of road safety, which is an acute problem in the PRC. It is estimated
that between 2000 and 2005, road accidents in the PRC had impacts
on over 18 million people, either a victims of accidents or as family
members of those involved in the accidents. The annual economic
losses from road accidents are estimated to be the equivalent of
between 1 and 3% of PRC's gross domestic product. Poor households
are particularly vulnerable to road accidents, as they often lack
the resources to compensate for the loss of income from a road accident
victim.
13. Fourth, there is a need for the adoption of technologies
that will improve the efficiency of energy, and other resource,
used in the transport sector.
14. Finally, there is a need for effective
stakeholder participation in order to ensure that transport planning
issues are addressed in a sustainable and socially acceptable way.
15. The achievement of the long-term goal of developing a sustainable
and balanced transport system will depend on the adoption of an
effective mix of different investment interventions and policy approaches.
16. ADB values its partnership with the transport sector in PRC,
and wishes to see that partnership continue, and develop, in the
future. While ADB hopes to continue making a contribution to the
development of the trunk road network, we would also like very much
to contribute to the development of rural and urban transport systems,
through both lending and knowledge-based non-lending operations,
as part of the process of developing a more balanced and sustainable
transport system in PRC. We believe that the value of ADB's contribution
to road network development can be enhanced by the utilization of
some of the new financing modalities that were approved last year.
In particular, we believe that the Multitranche Financing Facility
(MFF) could be used to support the development of rural roads, as
has been done in India. Local currency financing represents another
modality that could be adopted to support rural road development
projects.
17. Finally, I am pleased to note that TA4322-PRC: Poverty
Impact of Area Wide Road Networks has contributed towards addressing
some of the institutional obstacles that can hinder the deepening
of the poverty impact of rural road development projects and impede
the understanding of the linkages within area wide road networks.
It has done this through developing a tool to improve the planning
of road network investments that better captures the linkages between
rural roads and the expressways; through improved feasibility study
guidelines; and, through an integrated information system to facilitate
project implementation.
18. I am also please to note that around
100 officials from MOC, NDRC, and provincial communication departments
have completed training under the TA. The establishment under the
TA of the Transport Panning Unit, which will act as a focal point
and disseminate knowledge after the TA, is an encouraging practice.
19. This TA is a good example of the extensive and fruitful dialogue
that takes place between the Government of PRC and ADB on how to
optimize the efficiency of road network development, and I look
forward to the continuation and deepening of this dialogue.
20. In closing, I would like to thank the Honorable Vice Minister Wen
for addressing this conference.
21. I would like also to thank the
State Council, NDRC, and MOF for their support during the implementation
of this TA. Particular thanks are due to DG Dong and his team at
MOC for making this TA so successful, and for all of his work to
optimize the development of rural roads.
22. Finally, I would like
to thank the UK Department for International Development for funding
the TA from their Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund.
23. I wish
you all success in your deliberations and I look forward to a productive
conference, which will contribute to the building of the "New Socialist
Countryside" in the PRC.
Thank you.
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