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KUNMING, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (4 November 2002) - Only a decade ago, few dreamed it possible to travel by proper roads the 2,000 kilometers (km) between Kunming, capital ofPeople's Republic of Chinasouthwestern Yunnan Province, and Bangkok, Thailand.

But soon such a journey will be possible - and in 20 hours - on the North-South Economic Corridor, a major project of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Program.

A major goal of the GMS Program, which held its first Summit in Phnom Penh on 3 November, is to establish cross-country road networks and cross-border agreements to simplify customs clearance procedures.

Given the good roads between Bangkok and Singapore and from Kunming to Beijing, the North-South Economic Corridor will also mean smooth links from the PRC capital to the tip of the Malay Peninsula.

"Improving this Corridor will create a safe, viable, continuous, all-weather overland route between Singapore and Beijing," says ADB Principal Economist Rita Nangia.

The Corridor will consist of several links.

• A 198-km, four-lane expressway just south of Kunming is now the main route between Kunming and Yuanjiang.
• A 216-km expressway from Yuanjiang to Mohei is being constructed, partly through ADB financing from the Southern Yunnan Road Development Project. Now 80% complete, this expressway will be open in 2003.
• Another link, an existing highway from Mohei to the PRC-Lao People's Democratic Republic border will be upgraded.

The Lao PDR road, known as National Route 3, connects Boten on the border with the PRC with Houayxay on the border with Thailand.

The upgraded highway is likely to receive financing from ADB, the PRC, and Thailand in late 2002.

"Financing from the PRC and Thailand is particularly welcome and represents a prime example of effective South-South cooperation," says Yuezhao Zhang, Deputy Director General of ADB's Mekong Department.

The highway is targeted for completion by the end of 2006.

Currently, many sections of the road are often impassable during the rainy season.

Floods, for example, cut off a major section of the route in Lao PDR forfour months a year.

Traffic jams and landslides frequently block the winding national road that connects Yuanjiang and Mohei to the south.

In Kunming and elsewhere, there is hope for more trade and tourism in the PRC and its neighbors.

"I believe there will be a dramatic increase in traffic flows between Kunming and Bangkok when the road link is completed," says Zhang Congming, Deputy General Manager of Yunnan Yuan Mo Expressway Company, which is building the expressway.

Constructing the Southern Yunnan Expressway through the province's rugged mountains has been a mammoth task, including 42 tunnels and 260 bridges.

The contractors also had to cope with landslides at 120 places.

Once completed, the expressway will shorten the travel time between Yuanjiang and Mohei byfive hours - down to only two hours. The distance will also be reduced by 67 km.

Such efficiencies are expected to promote economic activity, critical in an area where 14 out of 32 townships are officially designated as impoverished.

Potential business opportunities abound in Yunnan Province, famous for its herbal medicines, mushrooms, and tea.

Rich with natural resources and home to a unique mix of 26 ethnic minorities, Yunnan also hopes the expressway will boost tourism.

The project will also improve 540 km of feeder roads, allowing farmers to more easily bring their produce to markets in the cities.

"We hope the market for our product will expand when the expressway is completed," says farmer Won Jia Wu, who grows flowers and sells them locally for CNY22 (US$2.60) a kilogram.

He is optimistic that his flowers, which are used in tea, will fetch higher prices in the bigger markets he will be able to access through the expressway.

Although the new road will bring him opportunities, Mr. Won had paid a personal price.

He had to move his home to make way for the construction.

The upside is he now has a new house, which he built using the compensation he received.

In a few short years, the Southern Yunnan Expressway will be improving people's lives by connecting them to the rest of the GMS - and the world beyond.

Related story: Yunnan's Road to Prosperity