🇧🇩 Asian Highway: A Comparative Socio- Economic and Strategic Impact Analysis (2 Viewers)

[Saif]

Asian Highway: A Socio- Economic and Strategic Impact Analysis
By Saif​

Introduction

The concept of Asian Highway was first conceived in 1959 to bring the Asian countries closer together through promoting trade and commerce, cultural exchanges, tourism, and people to people contacts. Rapid economic growth in the Asia Pacific region created huge demand for improved, reliable and cost-effective road networks to connect regional countries to transport goods, and therefore the Asian Highway project saw tremendous progress throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s with the help of member countries. The intergovernmental agreement on Asian Highway project was signed on 18th November, 2003 and became effective on 4th July, 2005. A total sum of $26 billion has already been invested in the project and talks are underway with the member countries to raise another $18 billion to improve the road transport capacity and efficiency of the network.

Now, let's look at the route criteria, the benefits to be derived, and the risks to be borne by the member countries if they implement the Asian Highway project.

Route Criteria for Asian Highway

ESCAP has set forth a set of route criteria for Asian Highway network to connect growth centers and major infrastructures of member countries to enhance trade flows. These criteria are as follows:

1. Routes should link capitals of member countries for international transport
2. Routes should connect industrial and agricultural centers, and growth triangles to link major origin and destination points
3. Routes should integrate land and sea transport networks by connecting major sea and river ports
4. Routes should integrate rail and road networks to connect major container terminals and depots

Benefits of Asian Highway

The Asian countries are expected to derive the following benefits by connecting through the multi billion dollar mega highway project:

1. Integration of regional economy through boosting trade and commerce
2. Enhanced people to people contacts through promoting tourism
3. Regional cooperation in harnessing natural resources to maximize economic benefits
4. Fostering trust, stability, and peace among the member countries

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Associated Risks of Asian Highway

Although experts argue that economic benefits over-weigh the risks associated with this mega highway project, it is imperative that we briefly mention the risks associated with Asian Highway for objective analysis. The risks are described below:

1. Increased exposure to HIV/AIDS and other life threatening diseases
2. Increased risks of human and drug trafficking
3. Increased risks of environmental degradation
4. Increased risks of terrorist attacks on people and transport infrastructures

Impact Analysis

The Asian Highway has become a controversial political issue in Bangladesh because of conflicting choice of routes by Bangladesh and India. The three proposed routes are as follows:

AH-1: India-Benapole-Jessore-Dhaka-Kachpur-Sylhet-Tamabil

AH-2: India-Hati Kumrul-Dhaka-Kachpur-Sylhet-Tamabil

AH-41:India-Mongla-Jessore-Hati-Kumrul-Dhaka-Kachpur-Chittagong-Cox's Bazaar-Teknaf-Myanmar.

While Bangladesh prefers AH-41 because it is the shortest and the most cost-effective route to transport goods to ASEAN countries and China, India prefers the other routes because they connect Indian North East to mainland India through Bangladesh before connecting Myanmar. Many experts in the country are of the opinion that the preferred routes of India would diminish Bangladesh's strategic and economic advantages because they are much longer routes with both the entry and exit points in India.

In light of the above discussion, let's do an impact analysis for each of the routes proposed by UNESCAP.


AH(Asian Highway)-1/2

Economic Impact:

1. These routes do not fulfill the criteria set forth by the UNESCAP because they do not connect Mongla and Chittagong sea ports, as they detour to connect India's North-East, instead of linking Myanmar's capital Yangon. They also do not integrate major road networks such as Dhaka-Chittagong Highway to increase efficiency.
2. These are the longest and economically unprofitable routes to connect to ASEAN countries because the additional freight charges, when added to the cost of production, will raise the product price for Bangladesh to lose price competition, and therefore the lucrative ASEAN market will be lost.
3. Bangladesh will lose competitive advantage vis a vis India as the latter will be able to transport goods to North Eastern states at a much cheaper price, and therefore Bangladesh's chances to expand her export market into India will be lost.
4. India, being the entry and exit point of these two routes, will be able to control Bangladesh's external trade, in particular and the economy, in general. Once India starts to exert its influence on Bangladesh's external trade relations with other nations, it will expand its influence into other areas of vital national interest.
5. Losing competitive advantage to India could mean attaining lower than expected economic growth rate affecting reduction of poverty level, eradication of unemployment, and Bangladesh's ambition to be a major economic power in the region.
6. The combination of small domestic market and uncertain export market in the neighborhood e.g. North East India, ASEAN and China, may have an adverse impact on the industrialization process, reducing us as a mere trading nation.

Social Impact:

1. Bangladesh might be a victim of health hazards due to absence of good health care system in underdeveloped North East India and lack of adequate surveillance and monitoring mechanism in the vast Indo-Bangla border to control the spread of diseases. Contagious and life threatening diseases such as AIDS might spread within Bangladesh if proper management and control mechanism is not put in place, which, by the way, is an exorbitantly expensive undertaking.
2. Lack of economic opportunities in the North Eastern states may cause mass migration of people to Bangladesh to alter the existing demographic composition, which may create plethora of socio-economic problems in the country.
3. Due to poor border management, Bangladesh may experience alarmingly high criminal activities such as smuggling, drug trafficking from across the border, which may affect social harmony in the country.

Security Impact:

1. The implementation of these two particular routes may pose grave security danger to Bangladesh as the home-grown insurgent groups within North East India may conduct subversive activities within Bangladesh to sabotage the communication link between India's mainland and its troubled North East states.
2. Local criminals may use these routes for their movement to and from India to commit serious crimes and to escape from the law enforcement agencies. The same routes may also be used to smuggle lethal weapons in Bangladesh from India in order to carryout subversive activities within the country.
3. In the absence of adequate inspection and monitoring resources, the customs and other law enforcement agencies are unable to inspect the contents of each and every North East bound transport vehicle. This inadequacy of Bangladesh may be used to transport military hardware to troubled North Eastern states to quell insurgencies.
4. The transportation of military hardware to North East India may be construed as a declaration of war and may set the security agencies of Bangladesh on a collision course with the insurgents in North East putting the lives and properties of the people in danger.

Strategic Impact:

1. If implemented, these routes will let India overcome its strategic disadvantage of geographical isolation of its North East region through improved accessibility, which will diminish Bangladesh's only strategic advantage over India.
2. The 'chicken neck' will lose its strategic value as in a conflict situation, India will be able to use Bangladesh as a military corridor against China to protect its mountainous state--Arunachal Pradesh.
3. As a consequence, China may resort to military action to destroy India's military supply lines through Bangladesh to gain military advantage in the North East. This could push the war between India and China into Bangladesh territory and cause serious deterioration in the relationship between Bangladesh and China.
4. In overall calculation, Bangladesh will be the net loser for it will end up being a battleground between China and India and lose China as a strategic partner to discover herself alone in a hostile neighborhood, which will inevitably subject herself to Indian domination.

AH(Asian Highway)-41

Economic Impact

1. By connecting Mongla and Chittagong sea ports, directly linking Yangoon with Dhaka, and integrating major communication networks to increase efficiency, to enhance trade and tourism, and to improve distribution of farm products, AH-41 fulfills all the criteria set forth by the UNESCAP.
2. This is the shortest and economically profitable route to connect to ASEAN countries through which Bangladesh will be able to transport goods at the shortest time and at the minimum cost. If implemented, it will enable Bangladesh to gain competitive advantage in the ASEAN market due to time and cost advantages.
3. Using her competitive advantage, Bangladesh will also be able to establish profitable economic relations with North East India by delivering the right product at the right time and at the right price.
4. Bangladesh will be able to define her trade relations with the rest of the world based on an equal footing because, unlike AH-1 and AH-2, AH-41 creates a mutually-dependent relationship among the connected countries.
5. This route will enable Bangladesh to use her strategic geographical location and port facilities to attain high economic growth rate, reduce poverty level, eradicate unemployment and achieve major economic power status in the region through extracting economic benefits from North East India and ASEAN markets.
6. The expanding domestic and international market for Bangladeshi products will accelerate the process of industrialization through product innovation, process improvement and technology development.

Social Impact:

1. The benefits of increased economic activities will be felt through higher standard of living, improved health care system and reduced crimes in the society.
2. Economic emancipation will create mass awareness about human rights and social justice to establish social harmony through eradicating exploitation, deprivation and misuse of power.
3. The risk of mass migration of people from underdeveloped North East India to alter the existing demographic composition will be minimized and the opportunity for equal distribution of wealth will be maximized.
4. The cross border criminal activities could be kept at the minimum level through smart border management to ensure peace, stability and tranquility at the border areas.

Security Impact:

1. As the route will provide no direct road link with India's troubled North East, the threat of sabotaging trade links by North East Indian insurgent groups will totally be eliminated.
2. It will facilitate efficient border management to control cross border movement of criminals, arms smuggling and drug trafficking across Bangla-Myanmar border.
3. The risk of inadvertent involvement in the conflict between India and its North East insurgent groups will be minimized as India cannot use this route to transport military goods to its turbulent North Eastern states.
4. It will facilitate improved relations between security forces of Bangladesh and Myanmar to remove suspicion and mistrust, and to foster understanding and cooperation based on mutual trust and interest.

Strategic Impact:

1. Bangladesh will retain her strategic advantage over India and will continue to hold the key to stability and economic development of geographically isolated North East India, which can be used as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from India in the areas of vital national interest.
2. The absence of a military corridor through Bangladesh means the 'chicken neck' will retain its strategic value because it will still remain as the only fragile communication link between East and North East India.
3. India's perpetual reliance on strategic 'chicken neck' to supply military logistics to its North Eastern states will minimize the risk for Bangladesh to get involved in a conflict between India and China.
4. If implemented, this route will make Bangladesh the indispensable bridge between SAARC and ASEAN and will transform her into the nerve center of regional economic activities.
5. It will enable Bangladesh to play an important strategic role in South Asia through positively affecting the strategic direction of the region to achieve stability and prosperity. It will also facilitate a more comprehensive relationship between Bangladesh and other major players.

Concluding Observations

In the final analysis, it is imperative that the government of Bangladesh take cognizance of above mentioned factors to choose the most appropriate route to connect to China and ASEAN to maximize economic, political and strategic benefits and to minimize the risks of losing economic and strategic advantages by ensuring mutual interdependence and balance of power with other member countries.

 

[Saif]

The Asian Highway: A pipe dream on paper

Even though the idea of regional road connectivity sounds pragmatic, progress is meagre

www.tbsnews.net

The Asian Highway: A pipe dream on paper​

Even though the idea of regional road connectivity sounds pragmatic, progress is meagre​

On a map laid out on the table, the concept looks impressive – an all-weather metalled road to connect Europe with Asia, spanning more than a hundred thousand kilometres, travelled by lorries, and buses and cars, carrying goods and passengers end to end without hindrance.

Named the Asian Highway, the project was to have a network of roads which would connect the far corners of the two continents. UN-Escap's Asian Highway Network shows a route that is supposed to touch Dhaka and will connect Istanbul to Tokyo.

As per the route map, in one go, a commuter could enter a highway in Dhaka and take an exit through Tamabil to pass through Indian and Myanmar territories to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Beijing, Seoul and then Tokyo. The other route will exit through Benapole, then Kolkata, New Delhi, Lahore, Islamabad, Kabul, Tehran before ending in Istanbul.

Conceived in 1959 during the height of the Cold War, the 1,44,630-kilometre Asian Highway network looks to connect 32 Asian countries to Europe. An intergovernmental agreement was adopted in Bangkok in 2003 to establish the network. Bangladesh officially approved the accession of the highway network in 2009 through signing the regional instrument.

It was an ambitious project, even more so when it was first conceptualised. While the work initially began with much gusto and fanfare, funds eventually began to dry up. The Asian Highway has not even been high on the government's agenda. Today, it is not even certain if and when the highway will start functioning, realising the vision of the planners taken in the middle of the last century.
Of the 1,771 kilometres to be developed in Bangladesh, less than 300km have been completed comprising the Dhaka-Chattogram four-lane highway and Dhaka-Bhanga expressway.

These are the only projects completed for the Asian Highway.

Why the region fails to connect

While a lack of initiative on the part of Bangladesh, like others, is cited as the reason behind the disappointing progress, some experts have also pointed out India's failure to take a lead in this regard.

"Like China, India also had an opportunity to play a lead role in ensuring this regional connectivity. But they had not done so," said Shamsul Haque, a communications expert and professor at Buet.

"Failure to make these roads means we are failing to reap the economic benefits. For instance, China had agreed to make a road to Kunming and Myanmar had agreed to it too. But, the then Bangladesh government at the end of last decade refused to take the deal.

"If the road were made, we could directly communicate with Kumming and it would be a huge milestone in road networks for the country."

Shamsul Haque observed there was no coordination or even a separate body who would work strictly with connectivity, reiterating that India should have played the biggest role in ensuring such a body was formed.

"China has taken so many initiatives, but India has done nothing like them," he maintained.

"Bangladesh has neither plan nor research on how connectivity can help us. We talk about this sometimes, but we don't have a vision. Our dream of connectivity isn't even on paper," he pointed out.

An Indian expert rubbishes the idea that India had faltered in any regard.

Prabir De, coordinator of ASEAN-India Centre, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, pointed out that India had completed most of its work in terms of land connectivity.

"The trilateral highway will be completed next year. It will connect India, Myanmar and Thailand," he added.

The ground reality

Currently, the Asian Highway network is made up of 88 different routes. Of these, three routes – AH1, AH2 and AH41 – are in Bangladesh.

Work is ongoing on all the three, but it is yet far from complete.

According to the Regional Road Connectivity Bangladesh Perspective, prepared by the Road Transport and Highways Division in 2016, Bangladesh will have three Asian Highway (AH) routes: AH1 (Tamabil-Benapole 492km), AH2 (Tamabil-Banglabandha 517km) and AH41 (Teknaf-Mongla 762km).

All the three routes will touch the capital Dhaka and two of them will connect India at both ends. The other route, AH41 remains within Bangladesh, but could be extended to neighbouring countries including Myanmar via Teknaf.

In fact, these routes encompass national highways which have already been constructed or in the process of development under at least 26 projects.

Tamabil-Kanchpur, Kanchpur-Dhaka, Dhaka (South)-Mawa-Bhanga, Padma Bridge, Joydevpur-Chandra-Tangail-Elenga, Elenga-Hatikumrul-Bogura-Rangpur, Panchagarh-Banglabandha, Teknaf-Cox's Bazar-Chattogram, Chattogram-Daudkandi, and Joydevpur-Chandra-Tangail- Elenga are some of the projects which do not have the Asian Highway tags but are very much parts of the three AH routes, as per the government document.

To meet the standard of the Asian Highway, no work has been completed in this regard. The Dhaka-Sylhet route is still in the tender processing stage. The Joydebpur-Elenga (70km) route work has been going on for the past nine years. Around 35% of the work on the Elenga-Rangpur road under the Sasec initiative has been completed, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Finally, the AH41 will be built from Teknaf to Mongla in Khulna. However, to meet the standard, the Dhaka-Chattogram four-lane highway needs to be turned into a six- or eight-lane highway. Work has stalled as a consultant has to be found. The ADB has preliminarily agreed to fund this.

Similarly, the Cox's Bazar-Chattogram road (132km) needs to be turned into an expressway or a four-lane highway. A feasibility study for this has been done and the project can be started with a government-to-government (G2G) with Japan or under a public-private partnership (PPP). No work has been done in this regard yet.

The Cox's Bazar-Teknaf route under this network is currently being worked on and the roads there need to be widened.

Work has, however, begun on the Hatikumrul-Mongla route. Work on the Hatikumrul-Benapole-Jhenaidah (153.5km) route, funded by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, is yet to begin.

The Jhenaidah-Jashore (48.5km) work, funded by the World Bank has been greenlighted but has made little progress.

Finally, development of the road on the Jashore-Mongla route (98.5km) is yet to start, although the feasibility study has been conducted.

Official status report, however, shows significant progress in work on three AH routes.

It says two routes – AH2 and AH41 – do not have any missing link or substandard section, but investment is needed to upgrade them to AH Standard I.

But the AH1 has two missing links near the Padma Bridge at Bhanga and at Bhatiapara, one sub-standard section between Bhatiapara-Narial-Jashore.

Some other initiatives

The Road Transport and Highways Division's perspective plan states that Bangladesh has been deeply involved in several regional initiatives and identified strategic transport routes under the umbrella of UN-Escap, Saarc, Sasec, Bimstec and BCIM Forum.

These transport routes will allow Bangladesh to connect with regional and global supply chains and provide landlocked countries and territories access to seaports at Chattogram, Mongla and Payra.

The Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal Initiative (BBIN) has also not progressed much other than signing a Motor Vehicles Agreement in 2015, which was rejected by the Bhutanese parliament, stalling further development.

A 2013 car rally that covered around 3,000km from Kolkata to Kunming via Bangladesh and Myanmar was the only visible event under the 2800km Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor, a component of China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – another much-hyped umbrella network planned to revive ancient Silk Route across Eurasia and Africa.

According to experts, as disagreements between China and India began to grow on their "sovereignty concerns," this initiative too has stalled.

In terms of the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (Sasec) corridor, the hope was to bring together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, also connecting through South-East Asia through Myanmar, to China and the global market.

Under this initiative, some work is still ongoing, which include the Joydebpur-Elenga, Elenga-Rangpur, Rangpur-Burimari and Rangpur-Banglabandha roads. The latter two are undergoing feasibility studies, while construction work is ongoing on the former two.

The Dhaka-Sylhet and Sylhet-Tamabil are two more routes under Sasec, both of which are awaiting the tendering process.

No long-time government plan for regional connectivity

People concerned said there is no long-term plan for the implementation of the regional connectivity projects.

Regional road projects are implemented by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).

Shishir Kanti Routh, additional chief engineer of the RHD said work on various roads under the ADB-funded Sasek initiative is now underway, while the other connectivity projects, including the Asian Highway, are still under discussion.

Mohammad Yunus, senior research fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), observed that countries in this part of the world have taken a long time to build a consensus or understand the importance of regional connectivity. "Our approach in this regard has been conservative. Even though we are seeing some progress of late, whether we will see the implementation of such projects in our lifetime remains uncertain."

Mentioning the government's initiatives, Dr Shamsul Alam, state minister for planning, said the government has no long-term plan and the five-year plan does not contain any target about the implementation of regional connectivity projects. However, there is mention of how many kilometers of four-lane roads or inter-district connectivity roads will be built in the country in these five years, he added.

"The regional connectivity projects have been given importance in the five-year plan but there is no mention about the construction deadline of roads under the projects."

Mamun-Al-Rashid, member of the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission, also acknowledged they have no long-term plans for the implementation of regional connectivity projects.​

 

[Saif]

Padma Bridge: A leap for Asian connectivity

This is a dream bridge which will not only establish the long-awaited direct road and rail communications between the capital and south-western parts of Bangladesh but also contribute to greater connectivity and trade among Asian countries.

www.thedailystar.net

Padma Bridge: A leap for Asian connectivity​

This is a dream bridge which will not only establish the long-awaited direct road and rail communications between the capital and south-western parts of Bangladesh but also contribute to greater connectivity and trade among Asian countries.

The Padma Bridge will have significant economic impacts by cutting the travel time as well as freight costs, and thus bring prosperity for 21 districts in particular and the nation in general.​

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It will also work as a key component of the Asian Highway-1, boosting economic growth of Asia and improving the country's standing in the continent.

In August 2009, Bangladesh joined the network conceived by the United Nations with a view to setting up regional connectivity among Asian countries via a highway system of over 145,000km roads passing through 32 countries.

Bangladesh is connected with three Asian Highway routes named AH-1, AH-2 and AH-41 with a total length of 1,771km.

The AH-1, connecting Assam with West Bengal of India via Sylhet-Dhaka-Narail-Jashore, had two missing links: one is the Padma Bridge and another Kalna Bridge in Narail.

Of the two, the 690m bridge construction in Kalna was comparatively easier, but the 6.150km bridge over the mighty Padma was always a massive task in terms of the magnitude of the work.

With the opening of Padma Bridge tomorrow and Kalna Bridge's expected inauguration by September, those two missing links will disappear.

The Padma Bridge, longest in Bangladesh, will also pave the way for putting in place a new route for the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) network, another UN initiative aimed at creating an integrated railway network across Asia.

It would be the fourth and the shortest TAR route, which would link India and Myanmar via the country and ultimately become a part of a network comprising 125,500km of railway lines serving 28 countries.

Apart from contributing to poverty reduction for the south-western region, the opening of Padma Bridge will help turn Kuakata into a major tourist destination.

The nation will also be able to make the most of Mongla port and under-construction Payra seaport, taking the burden off the Chattogram port, which often struggles to serve the fast-growing economy owing to inadequate facilities.
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AH-1 & PADMA BRIDGE​

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) conceived the Asian Highway project and adopted an Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network in November 2003.

The aim was to establish regional cooperation among the mainland countries of Asia, based on road transport linkages, according to the Road Transport and Highway Division's documents.

A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina approved the accession of Bangladesh to the Asian Highway network on June 15, 2009. The government signed the Instrument of Accession on July 5 the same year.

The route of AH-1 is Guwahati in Assam-Tamabil-Sylhet-Shaistaganj- Narsingdi-Kanchpur-Dhaka-Mawa-Charjanajat-Bhanga-Bhatiapara-Kalna Ferry Ghat-Narail-Jashore-Benapole-Petrapole in West Bengal. Its length is 492km.

The route of AH-2 is Guwahati-Tamabil-Sylhet-Narsingdi-Dhaka South (Jatrabari)-Dhaka North (Banani Rail Crossing)-Joydevpur-Elenga-Hatikamrul-Bogra-Rangpur-Panchagarh-Banglabandha-Fulbari in West Bengal. Its length is 517km, excluding the 294km common part of AH-1 and AH-2.

The route of AH-41 -- Teknaf-Cox's Bazar-Feni-Moinamoti-Dhaka-Joydevpur-Hatikamrul-Banpara-Dasuria-Kushtia-Jhenaidah-Jashore-Khulna-Mongla -- is limited within the country for now. Its length is 762km, excluding the 162km common part of AH2 and AH-41.

"With the opening of Padma Bridge and Kalna Bridge by September, there would be no missing links and thus an uninterrupted connectivity would be established [on AH-1 route], which is a significant development," Shishir Kanti Routh, an additional chief engineer of Roads and Highways Department (RHD).

The most portion of the AH-1 route is two-lane and also it has four-lane stretches in urban areas and market places.

The RHD is implementing two projects involving Tk 20,500 crore to turn Kanchpur-Sylhet and Sylhet-Tamabil portions into four-lane keeping two additional lanes for slow-moving vehicles.

The physical work of the projects is expected to start this year.

Of the route, the portion from Kanchpur to Dhaka is now an eight-lane highway and Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga a four-lane expressway.

The RHD is going to take up a project to turn the 135km road from Bhanga to Benapole via Kalna, Narail and Jashore into a four-lane highway with Indian lines of credit.

Meanwhile, the department has almost completed construction of the 690m bridge over the Madhumati river at Kalna point with a cost of Tk 959 crore.

"Once all the projects are completed, the entire AH-1 route would be elevated to either primary [access-controlled motorway] or Class-I (four or more lanes highway)," said Shishir Kanti, also a member of RHD's Thematic Group on Regional Connectivity.
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NEW TAR ROUTE​

The TAR network is aimed at enhancing the efficiency and development of the railway infrastructure in Asia, according to the UNESCAP website.

An intergovernmental agreement on the TAR network was adopted in April 2006. Signed by Bangladesh in 2007, it came into force in June 2009.

At the beginning, three routes of TAR had passed through Bangladesh.

The route of TAR-1 is Gede in West Bengal-Darshana-Ishwardi-Bangabandhu Bridge-Joydevepur-Tongi-Akhaura-Chattogram-Cox's Bazar-Ghundhum-Myanmar.

It has two sub-routes -- Tongi-Dhaka and Akhaura-Kulaura-Shahbazpur-Mahisasan of India.

The route of TAR-2 runs through Singabad in West Bengal-Rohanpur-Abdulpur-Ishwardi to meet TAR-1.

The route of TAR-3 runs through Radhikapur in West Bengal-Birol-Dinajpur-Parbatipur-Abdulpur to meet TAR-1.

With the building of a double-decker bridge -- roadway on the top and railway on the bottom -- over the Padma river, the country enters a new era of railway connectivity.

Bangladesh Railway has already undertaken a project titled "Padma Bridge Rail Link Project (PBRLP)" to connect the capital and Jashore with a 169km rail line via the Padma Bridge at the cost of Tk 39,246 crore.

And, following BR's request, UNESCAP agreed to incorporate the Dhaka-Bhanga-Jashore track as a fourth route of the TAR network in Bangladesh.

The route would run through Petrapole-Benapole-Jashore-Narail-Bhanga-Mawa-Narayanganj-Dhaka-Tongi before meeting TAR-1.

Transport expert Prof Hadiuzzaman said the Padma Bridge has opened a new route for Trans Asian Railway, through which the railway would be connected with a big network.

"This will open a new window for Bangladesh Railway," he told this correspondent recently, adding that the BR has to do a lot of things, including gauge conversions, to establish effective connectivity with TAR.​

 

[Saif]

Asian Highway : Dream or a reality?

The Asian Highway (AH), a cooperative project among Asian countries providing a link to Europe, was conceived in 1959 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-Escap) to promote regional cooperation. Dr. M Rahmatullah, former Director (transport) of...

www.thedailystar.net

Asian Highway : Dream or a reality?​

The Asian Highway (AH), a cooperative project among Asian countries providing a link to Europe, was conceived in 1959 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-Escap) to promote regional cooperation. Dr. M Rahmatullah, former Director (transport) of UN-Escap, now the Transport Policy Adviser, TSMR program at the Planning Commission, indicates how Bangladesh has been wasting time for wrong reasons, by not signing the Asian Highway Agreement, which has kept Bangladesh from becoming a part of the super highway. He identifies the authorities' negligence, their inability to understand the importance of AH and lack of commitment to uphold the country's interests, as some of the reasons. The interview was taken by M. Abul Kalam Azad, a senior reporter of The Daily Star

Which AH routes are crossing Bangladesh?

The AH1 passes through Benapole-Jessore-Kanchpur-Dhaka-Sylhet-Tamabil. AH2 passes through Banglabandha-Hatikamrul-Dhaka-Kanchpur-Sylhet-Tamabil and the international sea ports, Chittagong and Mongla are connected to AH1 and AH2 by AH41 so that the ports can also serve the regional needs if required. Depending on Myanmar's interest and agreement, AH41 could also be extended through Myanmar to Thailand.

Initially, Bangladesh offered two entry/exit points on the North-East corner of Bangladesh as part of its proposal. In 1993, UN-ESCAP asked all AH member countries to indicate as to which roads of their national network could form part of the Asian Highway network (AHN). Apart from the routes mentioned earlier, Bangladesh also proposed, in addition to Tamabil, Austagram (Sylhet)-Karimganj (Assam) route which could have provided a much shorter link to Tamu via Imphal. Tamu is the border point with India, which Myanmar offered for AH connection with India, and then through India to Bangladesh. Myanmar proposed road connections also to China and Thailand, but none to link Bangladesh directly.

Is Tamabil the best option for Bangladesh?

Bangladesh chose the Tamabil routeabout 600 kilometers to Imphal from Sylhet. It was a suicidal decision. This route passes through a mountainous region across four Indian states through which vehicles can move only slowly, as the gradients are steep. Trucks with heavy loads will have difficulties in moving, fuel consumptions will be huge, making travel costly. There was no reason for choosing this route since the alternative route through Austagram would have been shorter by around 200 kilometers. But the then communications minister, as official record shows, chose the route without realising its adverse consequences.

What was the reason for choosing Tamabil?

I was the Director (Transport) of UN-Escap at that time and I found no logic behind this selection. As far as my knowledge goes, the route was selected without considering its viability or the interests of Bangladesh. It was a big blunder, for which the country will suffer for years to come. Tamabil is not suitable for India, Myanmar, Bangladesh or for any movement between South Asia and South-East Asia. When countries submitted their route proposals in response to UN-Escap, India offered the Astagram-Karimganj route. An independent study of UN-Escap also found the Austagram route as the most suitable, as it was the shortest route and passes through level terrain. But the then Bangladesh authorities were unable to understand it and appreciate the reality. I heard some communications ministry top policymaker saying: "Since India has offered this route, it must have some deep interest in it, so we can't go for it."

Why has Bangladesh failed to connect itself with AHN so far?

The subsequent initiatives after the wrong selection of the route put Bangladesh into further difficulties. During 1997 and 1998, UN-Escap, together with the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and full support of the then government, took the initiative to create awareness about AH. The civil society of Bangladesh asked for a change of the route from Tamabil to Austagram. UN-Escap took it up with the government of India, but without any success.

The BNP-led four party government started talking about a Chittagong-Teknaf route. It was argued that if Tamabil was the route of the AHN, it would ultimately provide India a transit facility. It was a gross misconception and lack of understanding, since the AHN agreement and transit are two different matters.

The government continued talking about the Teknaf route although proper initiative was not taken at all in this regard. According to Articles 10 (2), 11 and 14 of the AH agreement, only those countries which had signed the agreement were eligible to propose a change in the route plan. Against this backdrop, Bangladesh cannot propose an amendment to the route unless it becomes a signatory to the agreement. But the then Bangladesh authorities continued talking about amending the route without taking the initiative to convince Myanmar to agree to a possible direct AH route from Bangladesh to Thailand through Myanmar, and taking the initiative first to be a member of the AH agreement so that it could propose an amendment.

What steps does Bangladesh need to take to sign the Agreement?

Since Bangladesh did not sign the Agreement by December 31, 2005, it has to ratify the Agreement first and then sign. Those countries, which signed the Agreement by the deadline are now ratifying it. It's highly encouraging that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the communications ministry to take necessary steps to sign the Agreement. As part of the ratification process, the cabinet should approve the decision to join the AH as early as possible, following which, it should also be approved by the parliament. Following parliamentary debate, the government can go for signing the Agreement; Bangladesh can't waste more time since the delay in becoming a part of AHN has already damaged our reputation.

What can Bangladesh do to amend the routes?

After signing the Agreement, Bangladesh should mobilise the opinion of other member countries that the current AH1 route between Sylhet and Imphal is not suitable for any of the member countries. It must convince other Asian countries that the Sylhet-Austagram-Karimganj-Imphal route will reduce the distance by about 400 kilometers, thereby reducing time and travel costs. After obtaining the support of India and other member countries, and fulfilling all the requirements as per the Agreement, Bangladesh should apply for amendment of the Tamabil route.

Concerning a possible AH route through Chittagong-Gundum-Myanmar to Thailand, Bangladesh needs to pursue the matter first with Myanmar as the most concerned country. If Myanmar agrees, it should pursue the matter next with India, being the most effected country. Once these two countries are agreeable to a direct AH link through Myanmar, with Thailand and South-west China (Yunnan Province), Bangladesh can bring in a proposal for amendment jointly with Myanmar, India and other linked countries provided it has fulfilled all other requirements as necessary under the agreement.

What about Chittagong-Teknaf route? Is it possible?

The best possible route for Bangladesh to South-East Asia is Chittagong-Gundum-Myanmar route as it will be a direct and shorter route. But it may need quite a bit of effort to achieve. Myanmar finalised its route through Tamu region because it has a reasonably good quality road of AH standard in that part of the country. On the other hand, Myanmar does not have such a quality road in its Arakan region through which the Gundum road will pass. This route can be possible only if Bangladesh can convince Myanmar to build an AH standard road along Gundum-Myanmar, with financial and technical support from China and Thailand.

The foreign minister of Thailand, during his recent visit to Bangladesh, has hinted in that direction. The Kunming Provincial Administration had earlier expressed interest in the deep seaport project of Bangladesh. All these possibilities need to be seriously pursued through diplomatic channels. In this case, Bangladesh shall have to get the support of India as well as it will be an effected party here. So, it will be quite a tough task for Bangladesh to get the Gundum-Myanmar route established, but the possibility should not be ruled out at all.

If Bangladesh agrees to the Tamabil or Austagram route, does it mean giving India transit benefit?

The AH network agreement and transit are two completely different issues. Article 15 (clause 3) of the AHN agreement says: "Nothing in this agreement should be construed an acceptance of an obligation by any party to permit the movement of goods and passenger traffic across its territory." For movement of goods and passengers in the form of "transit," there must be a separate agreement. Those who use "transit" as an excuse are ignorant about the AHN and agreement concerning transit movement.

Why is connection to AHN so important?

The AHN, an international network of 1,41,000 km of standard highways crisscrossing Asian countries with links to Europe, was conceived in 1959 with the aim of promoting regional cooperation among the mainland countries of Asia. Once Bangladesh becomes a part of this globalised network, it will get connected with the countries located both to the east and the west. It will also open up huge opportunities from the economic point of view as the AH will be providing shorter routes for movement of goods and passengers, leading to huge savings in transport costs. Once Bangladesh is included in the network, donors and private sectors from across the globe would find Bangladesh an attractive place to invest in.​

 

[Saif]

BD proposal to change Asian highway route turned down

DHAKA, Dec 4: All the six countries that Bangladesh had approached to change the route of certain portion of the...

www.dawn.com

Published 05 Dec, 2005 12:00am

BD proposal to change Asian highway route turned down

DHAKA, Dec 4: All the six countries that Bangladesh had approached to change the route of certain portion of the Asian Highway to be crossing its territory, have turned the proposal on the grounds of ‘time constraint’.

Surces in the country’s Foreign Affairs Ministry in Dhaka said Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, in separate letters, regretted that they could not agree to government’s proposal because it was too late to change the route. Dhaka proposed a change in the route through Yangon via Teknaf (AH-41 route) instead of the existing route from Tamabil to Benapole or Banglabandha (AH-1 route).

China, the main ally of Bangladesh’s ‘look east’ policy, had turned down the proposal due to time constraints earlier in November. ‘The text of the letters is more or less the same, and cited time constraint as the main reason for refusal,’ said an official of the foreign ministry, which received the letters in the last week of November and forwarded them to the communications ministry.

The foreign ministry had sent letters to all these countries in line with the decision of an October 20 inter-ministerial meeting on the Asian Highway which asked the ministry to pursue China, Thailand and Myanmar to support its proposal at the Asian Highway’s joint working committee’s meeting scheduled in Bangkok on December 14-15.

The deadline for Bangladesh to ratify the inter-governmental agreement to join the Asian Highway, which will connect 32 nations from Tokyo to Ankara, is December 31.

Twenty-seven countries, including Japan, China, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and all the South Asian nations except Bangladesh, signed the agreement in 2004.

‘It is very frustrating to see the failure of our diplomatic efforts to convince the countries on this issue,’ said a top official of the communications ministry, terming it a big diplomatic debacle for the government.

“Under this circumstance, the ministry will send a summary to the cabinet explaining the developments and underlining the need for a policy decision,” said the communications ministry official. “We have to push the matter as quickly as possible as time to join the network is running out.”

Earlier, the cabinet on June 20 sent back the proposal of joining the Asian Highway to the ministry, asking for further scrutiny. The foreign ministry favoured ratification of the agreement because of the importance of the road network’s impact on trade and commerce and relations with neighbouring countries.

“Bangladesh may be isolated if we do not link ourselves with the proposed road network. Joining the route will help Bangladesh to strengthen its “look east” policy, especially its relations with China,” said the foreign ministry in its opinion.

The foreign ministry also said that according to article 15(3) of the Asian Highway Agreement, Bangladesh does not have any obligation to provide a corridor or transit facility to India or any other countries. The ministry said the government should ratify the agreement first and then bargain with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the initiator of the project, to give the AH-41 road the status of AH-1 as articles 10(2), 11 and 14 of the agreement said only signatories of the agreement can propose any changes to the route plan.

But the October 20 meeting presided over by Communications Minister Nazmul Huda decided to stick to the government’s earlier stance for recognition of the proposed AH-41 route as the Asian Highway within Bangladesh, as both the entry and exit points of the existing Asian Highway would fall in India. The government fears that the highway would thus turn into an Indian transit route.

The AH-41 route is considered sub-regional road in the Asian Highway’s map. Bangladesh had earlier pursued the ESCAP and member countries to treat the road as an international road like the AH-1.

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