ADB Gears Up to Fix Southern Silk Road to PRC That Is Already Busy - And BumpyBy Ian Gill  

OSH, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC (28 September 2005) - Preparations are under way for the upgrading of a major section of the former southern Silk Road between Osh, the largest city in southern Kyrgyz Republic, and Irkeshtam on the Chinese border, an ADB official said today.

The rehabilitation work will begin in 2006, says Jeffrey Miller, an ADB senior project economist. ADB is financing the upgrade of a 124 km stretch with a $32.8 million loan.

Mr. Miller is also preparing a project for the second phase of the rehabilitation of the road between the Kyrgyz Republic-Tajikistan border and Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan.

The projects are part of ADB's support for increased regional cooperation by strengthening road links between the five republics of Central Asia. So far, ADB has repaired major sections of the roads between Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan, Almaty and Bishkek, and between Bishkek and Osh.

However, the growth in trade between Central Asia and the People's Republic of China since the break-up of the Soviet Union has been so strong that a growing number of truckers are already taking the arduous southern route to the PRC, even though the road is largely unpaved.

Several times a month, truck driver Arifzhan Tashlanbaev hauls scrap metal along the scenic but rugged 262 km road from Osh to the border. The 37-year-old Uzbek makes the return journey laden with Chinese goods such as television sets, shoes and clothing.

Even after independence in 1991, 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 been open to passenger traffic. However, 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."

Such conditions do not deter Mr. Tashlanbaev and other haulers. Although concerned that that PRC's cheaper exports might threaten their goods, generally Central Asia is keen to benefit from PRC's desire to develop strong ties with the region.

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 Chinese trade is evident in the bustling market at Karasu - 30 km outside of Osh - which teems with traders from all over Central Asia and Russia.

"Almost everything you see here is from China," says Baarkan Ergesheva, an imposing woman who deals in textiles and provides transport services for the China traffic.

She used to rent 5-6 trucks a month to make the 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 China is growing rapidly in this part of the world.

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

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