[Index]
Towards the development
of Euro-Asian land transport routes
Geneva, 4 July 2005 - At a meeting
held in Istanbul from 27 to 29 June 2005,
Government representatives from 16 countries
in the Euro-Asian region agreed on the
main road, rail and inland water transport
routes connecting Europe and Asia to be
considered for priority development as
well as on transshipment points along
these routes.
“The development
of Euro-Asian land transport links is
necessary, not only to absorb the expected
increase in trade and transport between
Europe and Asia, but also to contribute
to the economic development of the countries
directly concerned”, said Mr. José
Capel Ferrer, Director of the UNECE Transport
Division.
“This is, however,
a challenging task. Countries have huge
investment needs and the resources are
scarce. Under these circumstances, the
identification of viable projects along
the selected Euro-Asian routes and their
prioritization is crucial and we intend
to help countries do this”, he added.
The selected routes include
routes linking the western borders of
Belarus and Ukraine, through the Russian
Federation, with the port of Vladivostock
in the Pacific Ocean, with branches crossing
Kazakhstan and China and extending up
to the Shanghai port. They also include
the TRACECA routes, linking Romania and
Bulgaria, through the Black Sea, Turkey,
the Caucasus countries and the Caspian
Sea, with Central Asian countries and
also China. In addition, they include
North-South routes linking the Barents
and Baltic Sea regions, through the territory
of the Russian Federation, with the Caucasus
countries and Iran, as well as East-West
routes linking South-Eastern Europe with
Iran, Afghanistan and China. Selected
inland water transport links include the
Danube, linking Europe with the Black
Sea Caucasus countries, as well as the
Volga-Done, Dniper, Ural, Ob and Irttysch
rivers.
The meeting also identified
a number of important inland container
depots, inter-modal terminals and ports
along the selected routes as well as some
physical and non-physical obstacles to
Euro-Asian land transport along the adopted
routes. Furthermore, the meeting agreed
to provide missing and additional data
with a view to the completion of a Geographic
Information System (GIS) database. Finally,
the meeting agreed on a methodology for
the evaluation and prioritization of projects
along the selected routes.
Participating countries
included all Eastern European countries
currently not members of the European
Union: Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania,
Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine,
as well as neighbouring Caucasus and Asian
countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
China, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
and Uzbekistan.
The meeting was organized
jointly by the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), as
a part of a wider Project on Capacity-building
in developing interregional land and land-cum-sea
transport linkages. This Project, implemented
by the five UN Regional Commissions, is
funded through the UN Development Account.
For additional information please contact:
Mr. Jose Capel Ferrer, Director,
or
Mr. Michalis P. Adamantiadis, Regional
Adviser
UNECE Transport Division
Palais des Nations
CH – 1211 Geneva 10
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 24 01, 917 11
28
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 00 39
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/trans
Ref: ECE/TRANS/05/P01