Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - December 16, 2004
Parista Yuthamanop
The 13th ministerial meeting of the GMS Economic Co-operation Programme began earlier this week on how to build greater co-operation within the group, comprised of Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and China's Yunnan province.
Rajat Nag, the ADB's director-general for the Mekong region, said development needed to focus on sustainable measures.
Educational programmes are needed to help mitigate the impact of infrastructure construction on local people. Other measures were needed to tackle the potential social impact of easier cross-border transport systems, such as human trafficking or the spread of HIV.
"The GMS area needs to be connected, physically connected. But there's not much benefit for getting connected without the support of software such as educational programmes," Mr Nag said.
The East-West economic corridor, which involves developing infrastructure connecting Burma through Thailand, Savannakhet province in Laos and Vietnam's Danang seaport is expected to be fully implemented by 2007. The projects are being funded by Thailand, the Japanese government, the Japan Bank for International Co-operation and Vietnam.
The corridor includes the construction of a second bridge link between Mukdahan province and Savannakhet, and is expected to be opened in 2005.
The ministerial task force also discussed the possibility of easing customs clearance procedures within the group. To date, GMS countries have signed eight out of 20 associated contracts aimed at boosting customs co-operation to expedite trade within the region.
One Thai delegate said Thailand had proposed that GMS ministers agree to facilitate cross-border transport to spark greater co-operation and reduce transport costs within the region.
But agreements to help ease clearance procedures were expected to take time, due to the differences in the readiness of each member.
"Thailand would like the custom clearance contracts to happen soon. But we should not force the countries that are not ready. One way out is to make them accept the general principle [of facilitating transport]," he said.
Ministers attending the ministerial meeting will sign five annex agreements today to further the goal of facilitating cross-border transport. They include agreements on the transport of dangerous goods, perishable products, licence criteria for transport operators and criteria for driver's licences.
The success of the talks would hinge on bilateral agreements among the members, ahead of the summit to be held next year in Kunming, Mr Nag said.
A pilot project between Laos and Vietnam to ease procedures at customs checkpoints is expected to take effect in early 2005.
The $15-billion financing programme by the ADB will be spent on a variety of projects, including roads linking Kunming and Haiphong, Chiang Rai and Kunming, and Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.
Other projects include new hydroelectric plants in Laos, electricity transmission systems, a railway upgrade from Kunming and Singapore, as well as new optical fibre links throughout the region.
Arjun Thapan, an adviser for the ADB, said the bank expected the private sector to play a growing role. The ADB was considering ways to mobilise savings in GMS countries to also assist in development, such as issuing local-currency bonds.
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