INGENIEUR
COVER FEATURE
ASIAN HIGHWAY
DEVELOPMENT ISSUES
By Pang Soo Mooi
With the recent global shift of economic focus towards Asia and the introduction of
One Belt One Road initiative, there will be greater movement of goods and services
which will necessitate more efficient infrastructure networks within the Asian
Region. The main transportation modes will still be sea route, rail and highways.
Among these common modes of transportation, the Asian Highway network is
expected to play a key role in the mobility of goods and personnel taking cognizance
of the great production capacity of China, India and the emerging economies around
ASEAN countries. The construction of new highways from China into Laos and
Cambodia is part of the One Belt One Road programme.
T
he Asian Highway network is a network of 141,000 km of standardized roadways
crisscrossing 32 Asian countries with linkages to Europe. The Asian Highway project
was initiated in 1959 with the aim of promoting the development of international
road transport in the region. During the first phase of the project (1960-1970)
considerable progress was achieved, however, progress slowed down when financial
assistance was suspended in 1975.
Entering the 1980s and 1990s, regional political and economic changes spurred new
momentum for the Asian Highway Project. It became one of the three pillars of Asian
Land Transport Infrastructure Development (ALTID) project, endorsed by United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at its 48th Session
6
20
VOL
- JUNE
2016
VOL66
55APRIL
JUNE
2013