Moving Goods Faster and Better

Transcription

1 Moving Goods Faster and Better Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program s Transport and Trade Facilitation in Tajikistan

2 Foreword We are delighted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program and note its contribution to making Tajikistan s trade more efficient. To mark this wonderful occasion, we present this brochure, which summarizes CAREC transport and trade facilitation activities in Tajikistan supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). CAREC may not yet be a household name in Tajikistan but it has definitely made a difference. Chances are the food we eat and the clothes we wear have been transported along a CAREC-financed road or passed through a border checkpoint improved with technology supplied by CAREC. For Tajik consumers, CAREC is synonymous with better highways that bring goods from producer to household, while for businesses, CAREC is associated with a transport network that plays a big role in transforming Tajikistan s abundant resources into higher-value goods and services. And for Tajik society as a whole, CAREC is linked with opportunities to reap and enjoy the benefits of the country s strategic location. ADB commends Tajikistan for strongly supporting regional cooperation and leading numerous initiatives and projects, and looks forward to maintaining its successful partnership with the country to reduce poverty and increase economic growth. Joji Tokeshi Country Director Tajikistan Resident Mission Asian Development Bank

3 Promoting Development through Cooperation Formally established in 2001, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is a partnership of 10 countries and 6 multilateral institutions that promote development through cooperation. 1 CAREC helps Central Asian and neighboring countries realize the immense potential of an increasingly integrated Eurasian continent by encouraging regional cooperation in transport, trade facilitation, trade policy, and energy. The rapid economic expansion of the People s Republic of China (PRC) and Japan to the east, the Russian Federation to the north, and India and Pakistan to the south has created growing demand for improved connectivity between Europe and Asia. This momentum provides CAREC countries with an unprecedented opportunity to emerge as a center for trade and commerce while enjoying greater economic growth and reducing poverty. No economy in the region is capable of fully exploiting this opportunity in isolation, but all stand to benefit if they collaborate to build on their strengths. CAREC facilitates practical and result-based projects, and supports policy initiatives that promote trade expansion and sustainable development. Since 2001, the program has mobilized more than $15 billion for over 100 projects related to energy, transport, trade facilitation, and trade policy throughout the region. Among CAREC s regional accomplishments are building and improving 2,600 kilometers (km) of roads; laying 2,000 km of railway track; ADB Photo Library 1 The country members of CAREC are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The multilateral institution partners are ADB, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and World Bank.

4 upgrading ports and border crossings; and improving energy security, efficiency, and distribution. The CAREC institutional framework guides the program. A committee of country and multilateral institution representatives monitors activities in transport, trade facilitation, trade policy, and energy, and reports on their status at senior officials meetings. These regular meetings assess regional opportunities and list options for regional activities. An annual ministerial conference guides the program and sets policies and strategic directions. ADB is the program secretariat, and each CAREC country appoints a senior government official to be its CAREC national focal point to coordinate with agencies and other parties on regional economic cooperation. Negmatjon Buriev, senior adviser to the President on economic policy, is the CAREC national focal point in Tajikistan. Integrating Central Asia with Global Markets CAREC countries pursue a shared vision of Good neighbors, good partners, and good prospects, and are working together to make trade cheaper, faster, and smoother. This vision spurred the development of the CAREC Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy, which the CAREC countries endorsed at the Sixth Ministerial Conference, held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in November The strategy, which seeks to improve the region s competitiveness and CAREC economies trade with each other and the rest of the world, includes the following goals: establish competitive transport corridors across the CAREC region; make it easier for people and goods to move across borders; and develop safe, people-friendly transport systems and simplify border crossing and visa procedures. ADB Photo Library

5 The strategy seeks to develop a seamless network of six CAREC transport corridors, improve customs cooperation, and integrate trade facilitation: CAREC Corridor 1 CAREC Corridor 2 CAREC Corridor 3 CAREC Corridor 4 CAREC Corridor 5 CAREC Corridor 6 Europe East Asia Mediterranean East Asia Russian Federation Middle East and South Asia Russian Federation East Asia East Asia Middle East and South Asia Europe Middle East and South Asia The strategy has a time-bound and detailed implementation action plan covering 10 years, starting in It comprises 70 physical and 52 nonphysical investments costing more than $21 billion. The action plan includes building or improving about 8,400 km of roads, 6,100 km of railway lines, 7 airports, 3 ports, and 7 logistics centers. Boosting Trade with Better Transport Networks Life has changed dramatically for Tajikistan s 7.3 million people over the last 10 years. The country has shifted significantly to a market economy and the consequence has been strong economic growth. Connectivity and access are the key to economic development, as well as an arduous challenge. Now that it is highly dependent on external trade, which accounts for almost two-thirds of gross domestic product, the country needs to overcome the limitations of its location, rugged terrain, and outdated transport system. Transport and logistics costs in Tajikistan are among the highest in the world. Although the country is strategically located at the crossroads between East, South, and Central ADB Photo Library

6 Asia, it is landlocked, with the nearest seaport 1,600 km from the border. This, and the fact that more than 90% of its territory is mountainous, makes transporting goods across the county expensive. Tajikistan s extensive network of roads, railways, and airports was built under the former Soviet Union and is now in disrepair because of inadequate maintenance, the civil war in the 1990s, and natural disasters. Roads are the country s dominant mode of transport, carrying 90% of all passengers and 68% of cargo traffic. The National Transport Strategy aims to rehabilitate and expand the existing road network through maintenance, asset management, and private sector involvement. Improving Connectivity and Increasing Trade with ADB s Support Tajikistan strongly advocates regional cooperation and participates actively in transport, trade facilitation, and energy activities under the CAREC Program. Of the six CAREC corridors, four pass through Tajikistan (Corridors 2, 3, 5, and 6). The country also contributed significantly to efforts to ease movement of people and goods across borders in Central Asia when it signed the comprehensive Cross-Border Transport Agreement with the Kyrgyz Republic in late Developed with ADB support, it is the first such agreement inked under the CAREC Program and complements the development of transport corridors. The agreement will be expanded soon and opened up to new members. Under CAREC, ADB supports activities that upgrade key transport corridors across Central Asia, and reduce costs and waiting time at borders by encouraging countries to cooperate on customs issues and to harmonize cross-border regulations and practices. Besides the corridors, key investments include simpler procedures at the borders, joint border controls, and single windows. ADB Photo Library

7 The Regional Customs Modernization and Infrastructure Development Project was approved in November 2004, with funding of $13.38 million. ADB contributed $10.7 million to the project, with the remaining $2.68 million provided by the Government of Tajikistan. Later, the Government of the United States provided $1.6 million more. The project s main components are developing customs border post infrastructure, and installing a unified automated information system at border checkpoints between Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the PRC. These activities facilitate trade by speeding up operations at border checkpoints and reducing transport bottlenecks. In collaboration with the Government of Tajikistan and the OPEC Fund for International Development, ADB also supports the Dushanbe Kyrgyz Border Road Rehabilitation Project. Comprising three phases, the $118 million project is funded through loans and grants to improve a regional 354 km road corridor that runs from Dushanbe to the Kyrgyz Republic border. The project is helping restore an integrated and efficient regional road transport and trade link, and giving communities better access to markets and social services. In January 2011, ADB approved a $120 million grant to help fund the $186 million CAREC Corridor 3 (Dushanbe Uzbekistan Border) Improvement Project. The Government of Tajikistan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are cofinancing the project, which will help upgrade a vital road linking Dushanbe with the Uzbekistan border at Tursunzade. This road is part of CAREC Corridor 3, which spans almost 7,000 km from the Russian Federation in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south. The project s activities include improving the road, drain structures, bridges, and facilities at the Dusti border post to increase national and regional trade and further economic growth. The project will, ultimately, improve connectivity and mobility along the Tajikistan sections of CAREC Corridor 3. ADB and CAREC will continue to stress improvement of roads, cross-border customs arrangements, and transit procedures in Tajikistan. These projects, particularly those related to the CAREC corridors and trade facilitation, will put Tajikistan in a prime position to emerge as a regional transportation hub linking the huge markets of the PRC to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and serve as a gateway to the Middle East. These efforts will increase prosperity for all.

8 About Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation In transport and trade facilitation, CAREC supports activities that upgrade key transport corridors across Central Asia, and reduce costs and waiting time at borders by encouraging countries to cooperate on customs issues and to harmonize cross-border regulations and practices. Besides the corridors, key investments include simpler procedures at the borders, joint border controls, and single windows. About the Asian Development Bank ADB s vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people. Despite the region s many successes, it remains home to two-thirds of the world s poor: 1.8 billion people who live on less than $2 a day, with 903 million struggling on less than $1.25 a day. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. For more information, contact CAREC Secretariat Central and West Asia Department Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel Fax webmaster@carecinstitute.org ADB Tajikistan Resident Mission 107 Nozim Khikmat Street Dushanbe , Tajikistan Tel Fax adbtjrm@adb.org Publication Stock No. ARM Printed on recycled paper Printed in the Philippines