AH3
Encyclopedia
AH3 is a route of the Asian Highway Network
which runs 7331 km (4,555.3 mi) from Ulan-Ude
, Russia
(on AH6) to Tanggu, China; and Shanghai, China (on AH5) to Chiang Rai, Thailand and Kang Tong, Myanmar (both on AH2).
The North-South Corridor Project of has been part of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) agenda since 1993 and aimed to improved the connected economies of China
, Myanmar
, Laos
, Vietnam
, Thailand
and Cambodia
. The portion of the North-South Corridor known as Highway 3, which runs through northwestern Laos and connects China and Thailand, was expected to cost US$95.8 million and was being financed with a loan from the ADB, along with funds from the Chinese, Thai and Lao governments.
The completed sections of the road have gone from being little more than dirt roads a few years ago to two-lane routes with concrete shoulders, drainage and concrete bridge
s. The journey from the Lao border town of Huai Xai to the southwestern Chinese border village of Boten situated in southwestern Yunnan province took as long as two days on the old mostly dirt road depending on weather conditions. The new roadway shortened that trip to five to six hours.
The route was expected to be completed in 2007, but damage to the road from floods during the 2006 rainy season pushed the completion date into 2008. While the road was now made passable all year, there are still sections, some of several kilometers in length, which remained unfinished as of 2008.
The most significant problem with the corridor was the lack of progress on a bridge to be built across the Mekong River connecting the Thai town of Chiang Khong, with its cross-border neighbour of Huay Xai in Laos. The Chinese and Thai governments earlier agreed to build the bridge and share the estimated $33USD million dollar cost of the project.
The Thai cabinet approved the project in February 2007 with an expected completion date in 2011, but many remain skeptical that the schedule will be met since successive Thai governments since the late 1980s have similarly promised to undertake the project.
Thai border disputes with Laos, the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, political indifference in Bangkok and a general reluctance on the part of Thais have kept the project on the political 'back burner'. China meanwhile is anxious to develop its land-locked Yunnan province
through the creation of trade links with Southeast Asia, including access to Thailand's sea ports. While Thailand may benefit broadly from a new road link with China, others feared a flood of inexpensive Chinese products will impoverish northern Thais.
Some of those fears came to pass with the early implementation of some provisions with the Chinese-Thai free trade agreement, which resulted in a flood of inexpensive Chinese agriculture products. As of 2008, the last incomplete link to Laos represented a significant barrier to efficient trade between the two countries and some commented that was the reason for Thai procrastination on the bridge's completion. Bangkok might also have been using the bridge as a bargaining chip for trade negotiations with Beijing, since the Chinese appeared to increasingly value the route's completion.
Until the bridge's completion, the portion of the AH-3 North-South Corridor remains both incomplete and inefficient. As of 2008, Chinese goods destined for Thailand had to be ferried across the Mekong River between Chiang Khong and Huay Xai and many shippers have expressed their concerns that the ferry costs and Lao customs duties were too expensive, and traders also complained about the lengthy time required for Lao customs procedures and inspections.
Although Laos was pressured to eliminate transit taxes, the cash-short government remained hesitant, in part because China and Thailand were seen to benefit disproportionately from the completed roadway. Currently almost all China-Thailand trade is conducted by shipping up and down the Mekong River, with goods taking from 10 to 15 days to reach their destination.
As of 2008 the water route were suffering from frequent problems of inadequate levels to keep large cargo barges afloat, a situation which is likely to occur more frequently when more of China's planned dams on the river's upper reaches become functional in the future. The economic benefits of the roadway to Laos, meanwhile, are still undetermined.
to embed new costs into the already low intra-regional trade.
According to people involved in the tourism industry in northwestern Laos, while Western tourists were arriving in increasing numbers, tourists from neighbouring Thailand and China often only pass through Laos on their way to Boten on the Chinese border, where there's a large casino and market.
In addition to reaping less economic benefits, Laos will also likely have to deal with disproportionate social and environmental costs, people monitoring the project say. Without proper control mechanisms in place, the region's opening would disproportionately benefit government-connected business groups while displacing large numbers of the non-ethnic Lao groups currently living in the area.
A 2002 ADB report estimated that approximately 2,500 people (500 households) might have to be relocated due to the road project; some monitoring groups put the real number much higher. Although resettlement plans were drafted by the ADB to compensate for the loss of houses, land, rice granaries and shops, it was not clear that the funds were truly reaching the people most affected.
Among the issues involved was the resettlement of the original Lao inhabitants of Boten village near the Chinese border, who were moved a kilometer or more down the road to allow the construction of a new Chinese-owned casino, hotel and other commercial developments. The resettled Botens complained that their new site lacked services, and that the land set aside for them was smaller and less fertile than their original land. As well, others complained about rampant land grabs adjacent to the new road by government-connected traders and businessmen who established shops and other businesses on the new prime real estate. A lack of formal land deeds or proper court systems meant there was little justice available to the displaced residents.
The legal vacuum also allowed an increasing flow of Chinese migrants, many of whom first arrived to work on the road and who then stayed on to establish businesses along the road, including whole new villages, which further aggravated those previously resettled to less fertile land.
Rights groups were also concerned with the remote area's rapid development resulting in increases to exposure of HIV/AIDS, human trafficking and the possible exploitation of the surrounding forests and wildlife resources.
While the ADB's original hopes that the route would reduce transportation costs for the movement of vehicles, goods and people, and also promote faster economic growth, as the 7,300 km North-South Corridor neared completion in 2008 the real costs and benefits of the project for the local populations of Southeast Asia were still in doubt.
Asian Highway Network
The Asian Highway project, also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and Europe and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , to improve the highway systems in Asia...
which runs 7331 km (4,555.3 mi) from Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(on AH6) to Tanggu, China; and Shanghai, China (on AH5) to Chiang Rai, Thailand and Kang Tong, Myanmar (both on AH2).
Southeast Asian issues
By mid-2008 the North-South Corridor segment of the Asian Highway, AH-3, was nearly fully paved, with only the a few kilometers incomplete.The North-South Corridor Project of has been part of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) agenda since 1993 and aimed to improved the connected economies of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. The portion of the North-South Corridor known as Highway 3, which runs through northwestern Laos and connects China and Thailand, was expected to cost US$95.8 million and was being financed with a loan from the ADB, along with funds from the Chinese, Thai and Lao governments.
The completed sections of the road have gone from being little more than dirt roads a few years ago to two-lane routes with concrete shoulders, drainage and concrete bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s. The journey from the Lao border town of Huai Xai to the southwestern Chinese border village of Boten situated in southwestern Yunnan province took as long as two days on the old mostly dirt road depending on weather conditions. The new roadway shortened that trip to five to six hours.
The route was expected to be completed in 2007, but damage to the road from floods during the 2006 rainy season pushed the completion date into 2008. While the road was now made passable all year, there are still sections, some of several kilometers in length, which remained unfinished as of 2008.
Missing link in Southeast Asia
Construction of the Thai-built portion of the road lagged behind that of the Chinese section, but some observers contend that was because the Thai section was "much better constructed". They indicated that the Chinese side was built faster because of engineering shortcuts which may make that section of the road less durable.The most significant problem with the corridor was the lack of progress on a bridge to be built across the Mekong River connecting the Thai town of Chiang Khong, with its cross-border neighbour of Huay Xai in Laos. The Chinese and Thai governments earlier agreed to build the bridge and share the estimated $33USD million dollar cost of the project.
The Thai cabinet approved the project in February 2007 with an expected completion date in 2011, but many remain skeptical that the schedule will be met since successive Thai governments since the late 1980s have similarly promised to undertake the project.
Thai border disputes with Laos, the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, political indifference in Bangkok and a general reluctance on the part of Thais have kept the project on the political 'back burner'. China meanwhile is anxious to develop its land-locked Yunnan province
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
through the creation of trade links with Southeast Asia, including access to Thailand's sea ports. While Thailand may benefit broadly from a new road link with China, others feared a flood of inexpensive Chinese products will impoverish northern Thais.
Some of those fears came to pass with the early implementation of some provisions with the Chinese-Thai free trade agreement, which resulted in a flood of inexpensive Chinese agriculture products. As of 2008, the last incomplete link to Laos represented a significant barrier to efficient trade between the two countries and some commented that was the reason for Thai procrastination on the bridge's completion. Bangkok might also have been using the bridge as a bargaining chip for trade negotiations with Beijing, since the Chinese appeared to increasingly value the route's completion.
Until the bridge's completion, the portion of the AH-3 North-South Corridor remains both incomplete and inefficient. As of 2008, Chinese goods destined for Thailand had to be ferried across the Mekong River between Chiang Khong and Huay Xai and many shippers have expressed their concerns that the ferry costs and Lao customs duties were too expensive, and traders also complained about the lengthy time required for Lao customs procedures and inspections.
Although Laos was pressured to eliminate transit taxes, the cash-short government remained hesitant, in part because China and Thailand were seen to benefit disproportionately from the completed roadway. Currently almost all China-Thailand trade is conducted by shipping up and down the Mekong River, with goods taking from 10 to 15 days to reach their destination.
As of 2008 the water route were suffering from frequent problems of inadequate levels to keep large cargo barges afloat, a situation which is likely to occur more frequently when more of China's planned dams on the river's upper reaches become functional in the future. The economic benefits of the roadway to Laos, meanwhile, are still undetermined.
Southeast Asian development issues
While the AH-3 highway was expected to increase business and trade through increased market access to both China and Thailand, including the country's agribusiness and tourism sectors, the Lao government appeared more open to increasing state revenues through the collection of transit fees and taxes on goods that arrived at its borders. It was also under pressure from the Association of Southeast Asian NationsAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...
to embed new costs into the already low intra-regional trade.
According to people involved in the tourism industry in northwestern Laos, while Western tourists were arriving in increasing numbers, tourists from neighbouring Thailand and China often only pass through Laos on their way to Boten on the Chinese border, where there's a large casino and market.
In addition to reaping less economic benefits, Laos will also likely have to deal with disproportionate social and environmental costs, people monitoring the project say. Without proper control mechanisms in place, the region's opening would disproportionately benefit government-connected business groups while displacing large numbers of the non-ethnic Lao groups currently living in the area.
A 2002 ADB report estimated that approximately 2,500 people (500 households) might have to be relocated due to the road project; some monitoring groups put the real number much higher. Although resettlement plans were drafted by the ADB to compensate for the loss of houses, land, rice granaries and shops, it was not clear that the funds were truly reaching the people most affected.
Among the issues involved was the resettlement of the original Lao inhabitants of Boten village near the Chinese border, who were moved a kilometer or more down the road to allow the construction of a new Chinese-owned casino, hotel and other commercial developments. The resettled Botens complained that their new site lacked services, and that the land set aside for them was smaller and less fertile than their original land. As well, others complained about rampant land grabs adjacent to the new road by government-connected traders and businessmen who established shops and other businesses on the new prime real estate. A lack of formal land deeds or proper court systems meant there was little justice available to the displaced residents.
The legal vacuum also allowed an increasing flow of Chinese migrants, many of whom first arrived to work on the road and who then stayed on to establish businesses along the road, including whole new villages, which further aggravated those previously resettled to less fertile land.
Rights groups were also concerned with the remote area's rapid development resulting in increases to exposure of HIV/AIDS, human trafficking and the possible exploitation of the surrounding forests and wildlife resources.
While the ADB's original hopes that the route would reduce transportation costs for the movement of vehicles, goods and people, and also promote faster economic growth, as the 7,300 km North-South Corridor neared completion in 2008 the real costs and benefits of the project for the local populations of Southeast Asia were still in doubt.
Mongolia
- Altanbulag – Darkhan – Ulaanbaatar
- Ulaanbaatar – Nalayh – Choir – Saynshand – Zamin-Uud – Erenhot
China
- G208China National Highway 208China National Highway 208 runs from Erenhot, Inner Mongolia to Changzhi, Shanxi province. It is 990 kilometres in length and runs south from Erenhot towards Shanxi province.-Route and distance:-External links:*...
: Erenhot – Jining (353 km) - G25: Jining - Zhangjiakou - Xuanhua - Beijing (344 km)
- G20: Beijing – Tianjin - Tanggu (145 km)
- G65: Shanghai – Hangzhou – Nanchang – Xiangtan – Guiyang – Kunming (2810 km). A possible route.
- G213China National Highway 213China National Highway 213 runs from Lanzhou in Gansu to Mohan in Yunnan. It is 2827 kilometres in length and runs via Chengdu, Sichuan and Kunming, Yunnan.-Route and distance:...
: Kunming – Yuxi - Yuanjiang (203 km) - G213China National Highway 213China National Highway 213 runs from Lanzhou in Gansu to Mohan in Yunnan. It is 2827 kilometres in length and runs via Chengdu, Sichuan and Kunming, Yunnan.-Route and distance:...
: Yuanjiang - Puer - Xiaomengyang (352 km) - G213China National Highway 213China National Highway 213 runs from Lanzhou in Gansu to Mohan in Yunnan. It is 2827 kilometres in length and runs via Chengdu, Sichuan and Kunming, Yunnan.-Route and distance:...
: Xiaomengyang - Mengla - Mohan (186 km)
Laos
- Route 3: Boten – Nateuy (20 km)
- Route 3: Nateuy - Louang Namtha (45 km)
- Route 3: Louang Namtha - Houayxay (178 km)