Georgia forges transport links with neighbours
24 October 1996
"The economic development of countries in transition depends on efficient and safe systems
of communication. With Georgia joining the TEM and TER projects a few weeks ago, twelve
countries will have access in the near future to a modern road and rail infrastructure," stresses
Mrs. Armangil of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE).*/
Neglected by the centralized regimes, the road infrastructure of countries in transition does not
meet the requirements of a modern economy. Neither do the roads meet the safety norms that
exist in most European countries, or the needs of ever-increasing road traffic. As far as the rail
infrastructure is concerned, some of it dates from the XIXth century and is both inefficient and
dangerous, creating a big bottleneck in an important transport system.
The TEM project (Trans-European North-South Motorway) - in which Bulgaria, Croatia, the
Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey take part -
aims at creating a regional network of modern motorways which will link the Baltic, Adriatic,
Aegean and Black Seas. It also aims at improving the existing network. In total, more than
16,000 kilometres of roads are affected by this project.
The intergovernmental cooperation within the TEM project, promoted by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), was established in 1977 and has undergone several
transformations both in its concept and in its aims. Currently, the objectives of this cooperation
are to generate the financial capacity necessary to modernize or build a motorway network in
central and eastern Europe, and also to help aligning, constructing and maintaining this
network. It also aims to integrate this network into a pan-European network, which should
allow for the transport of people and goods throughout Europe.
Eleven countries have so far signed up for the TER project (Trans-European Railway): Austria,
Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation,
Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. This project covers a total of 20,000 kilometres of railroads.
The aim of TER is also to create an international railroad infrastructure, linking the signatory
countries themselves and their neighbours. Unlike the TEM project, which will involve some
construction to fill in the gaps in the network, TER will mainly modernize the existing one.
One of the major aims of the TER project is to find the financing necessary to upgrade the
existing railroad network, which in many instances does not meet the norms established under
the European Agreement on Main International Railway Lines (AGC), also developed under the
UN/ECE auspices. The goal is also to modernize the equipment and increase the efficiency of
this type of transport, while trying to promote integrated transport which would enable on-time
home delivery.
"The common idea behind these two projects is that a regional approach at the pan-European
level is indispensable to develop efficient transport. It is no longer possible for each country
to develop its infrastructure independently, as was the case in the past. It is in everyone's
interest that the movement of people and goods be made as quickly and easily as possible"
concludes Mrs. Armangil.