Thailand, Laos and Vietnam allow unhindered movement of goods by opening borders
By
Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
BANGKOK - THAILAND Laos and Vietnam have opened their borders to allow the unhindered movement of goods, part of the vision for a trans-Asia highway.
A truck can now drive through the so-called East-West Economic Corridor from Danang in Vietnam through Savannakhet in Laos and into Thailand without having to unload and reload its cargo. Undertaking the trips will be 1,200 designated commercial vehicles - 400 from each country.
The move marked the first sign of real progress in the ambitious vision to recreate the borderless overland trade routes during the time of Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant adventurer who travelled the famed Silk Route over 600 years ago.
The plan is to have a grid of highways and railroads that will provide continuity between China and Vietnam in the east, and Singapore in the south, through Myanmar, India, Central Asia, Pakistan, Iran and all the way to the doorstep of Europe.
Yesterday also marked the start of the operational phase of an inter-governmental agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network - a 114,000km track of 'international importance'.
The strategy, first conceived in the early 1960s, is to upgrade designated railway infrastructure in 28 countries to international standards, synchronise border and Customs procedures, and create clusters of infrastructure around railway stations which will function much like strategic sea ports.
The rail network has so far been ratified by eight countries - Cambodia, India, Mongolia, South Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand and China.
Speaking at a ceremony in Bangkok to mark the occasion yesterday, Dr Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific which is driving the project, said that huge challenges remain before the grand vision is realised.
But she is optimistic that with new technology and new commitment, completing the vision would take one-tenth of the time it has taken so far.
Restoring or building the 8,300km of missing links in the rail network, for example, will require about US$25 billion (S$36 billion).
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
