The Web Of Transport Corridors In South Asia

The WEB of Transport Corridors in South Asia develops a holistic appraisal methodology to ensure that economic benefits of investments in transport corridors are amplified and more widely spread, and possible negative impacts such as congestion, environmental degradation, and other unintended consequences are minimized. It focuses on South Asia—not only as one of the world’s most populous and poorest regions—but as a hinge between East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The book is aimed at politicians, technocrats, civil society organizations, and businesses. It presents case studies of past and recent corridor initiatives, provides rigorous analysis of the literature on the spatial impact of corridors, and offers assessments of corridor investment projects supported by international development organizations. A series of spotlights examines such issues as private sector co-investment; the impacts of corridors on small enterprises and women; and issues with implementing cross-border corridors. The 'WEB' in the title stands for both the wider economic benefits (WEB) that transport corridors are expected to generate and the complex web of transport corridors that has been proposed. The appraisal methodology introduced in this book shows how the web of interconnected elements around corridors can be disentangled and the most promising corridor proposals—the ones with the greatest wider economic benefits—can be selected.

"Written for public and private sector professionals in South Asia, the book presents policy options that would enable the subregion to compete in a rapidly changing global environment. While the book is designed to stimulate informed dialogue among key stakeholders, the unique approach and lessons learned have broad applications of interest to a wider audience."--BOOK JACKET.

Because trucks in Bangladesh and India are not allowed to operate across the border, cargo is transloaded at the border, and Indian trucks traveling between northeast India and the rest of India must go around Bangladesh through the Siliguri Corridor, which significantly increases transport and trade costs. This lack of integration means that it is more costly for Bangladesh and India to trade with each other than for either of them to trade with Europe. As a result, bilateral trade represents only about 10 percent of Bangladesh’s trade and a mere 1 percent of India’s trade. Connecting to Thrive: Challenges and Opportunities of Transport Integration in Eastern South Asia presents a collection of innovative technical analyses that show what is needed to achieve seamless connectivity in the region. The report explores the extent to which the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) supports the cross-border operation of road transport services and identifies the gaps in the agreement that need to be addressed to improve its effectiveness. It assesses the potential shift of freight traffic to new routes and modes in eastern India and Bangladesh once the MVA is implemented and the potential impact of the MVA on wages, employment, and income in Bangladesh and India. It explores how the local impacts of a regional corridor could be enhanced in rural areas by improving access to markets along the corridors and how women’s participation in export-oriented agriculture value chains could be improved to allow women to take advantage of improved regional connectivity. Connecting to Thrive will be of interest to policy makers, private sector practitioners, and academics with an interest in regional connectivity in eastern South Asia.

This book discusses policy instruments for sustainable infrastructure developments. Railways are one of the most important developmental instruments of a region, province, or country. They play a crucial role in economic development, urban growth, urban mobility, regional susceptibility, market integration, and world trade. Railways are an integral part of regional and urban development, both in terms of freight and passenger transport. By offering case studies from various regions and cities in South Asia, this book examines the evolution of railway transportation and the impact of these infrastructure projects on regional and urban development. It examines the interactions between evolving infrastructures and competing demands and considers the negative and positive externalities of railway transportation for people, places, and locations. The contributions analyze issues such as network infrastructure planning and technological development, passenger mobility and satisfaction, vulnerability to environmental impacts, and cross-border trade.

India’s Economic Corridor Initiatives highlights key aspects of current discourses on India’s initiative of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Chabahar, and their geo-economic significance. INSTC was founded by India, Russia, and Iran, and the Chabahar port in Iran provides a major prospective conduit for India's interchange and commerce with West Central Asia while maintaining a strategic distance from Pakistan's entry route. This book analyses the drastic changes in the equation of international relations in general, and more particularly between India and Eurasian countries. Contributors from Iran, Central Asia, Russia, Armenia and Europe provide a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis on the subject. The chapters claim that these corridors provide an alternative to the BRI and can play a pivotal role in de-escalating tensions through negotiations. A new addition to the debate on contemporary dynamics in Eurasia and India, this book will be of interest to researchers studying economic corridors, transnational and trans-regional economic relationships, security studies, regional and area studies, international relations and Indo-Iran-Russia relations.

In view of the great potential of trade development between Europe & Central Asia, this publication addresses the demand that would be placed on the existing transport & communications infrastructure. It provides a focus on three transport corridors - between Northern Europe & the republics of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan. Along with this focus, it presents an assessment of the traffic that could potentially be moved in containers in the next few years; reviews related policies of the international organizations involved in the development of transport linkages; gives a description of the rail & road routes; & addresses the issue of route standards & requirements. It also presents recommendations to help in the development of reliable & efficient container land transport.

Trade and transport corridors are fundamental to the overland movement of international trade, particularly for landlocked countries. This book provides tools and techniques for the design of trade and transport corridor projects. It is meant for task managers, policy makers, and corridor service providers.