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East rolls out a new silken path to Europe
One of the world's most ambitious road maps was approved in Shanghai yesterday when China, Japan and South Korea agreed plans for an 87,500-mile network of motorways, bridges and ferry routes connecting Asia and Europe. Beginning with Asian Highway One, which will link Tokyo to Istanbul, it aims to create a modern version of the Silk Road, the camel route by which the occident and orient once traded with one another.
Road trip! And anyone who calls "shotgun", bring one.

The plans were drawn up in 1959, but the divisions of the cold war made agreement and implementation impossible in the following 45 years. A draft proposal was finalised in November 2002. The 32 countries involved accepted the inter-governmental agreement in principle, but each still has to approve it. Yesterday 23 countries endorsed an expanded version of the plan at a meeting of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Under the Asian Highway agreement trunk routes and spur roads will cross China's vast plains, the mountains of the Himalayas and the jungles of south-east Asia. The system will connect South Korea with Turkey, Bhutan with Bulgaria, and Finland with Sri Lanka.
I can see that being a highwayman will become a growth industry.

Kim Hak-su, executive secretary of the commission, said he believed the network would improve communication and understanding between peoples separated by mountains, deserts, water and disparate cultures and political traditions, "the same way it has happened in Europe, because of their road and rail links".
Most of the roads are already built, but many will require extensive improvements to meet international standards in time for the scheduled completion of the network in 2010.
Construction companies are drooling.

China plans to build almost 10,000 miles of new highways, in addition to the existing 7,000-mile stretch of road that is to be included in the system.
I suspect there will be no problems with China's environmental impact study.

According to UN officials, the main beneficiaries are likely to be poor landlocked countries such as Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia and Nepal, which will get improved access to seaports.
The usual suspect organizations will of course protest against these poor countries being exposed to progress and trade.

The cost - as yet uncalculated - is expected to be vast. So far Japan has covered most of the preliminary costs, which it may be hoping to recoup with contracts for its vast construction industry.
Not in China, they still hold a grudge.

Further funding is expected from wealthy countries and international organisations such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. "The oppertunity for graft amount will be tremendous," Mr Kim said in a statement. "We propose public-private partnerships to fund this effort if governments cannot finance it.
Posted by: Steve 2004-04-27
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=31620