CHAPTER 2: ACHIEVEMENTS OF, AND CHALLENGES AND IMPEDIMENTS TO ASEAN CONNECTIVITY
1. ASEAN has continued to focus its efforts in implementing the ASEAN Charter and the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community. ASEAN Connectivity is a concept that presents the strengths, the potentials, and the challenges for building the ASEAN Community. It builds on the evolution of ASEAN regional cooperation and its achievements to date, and addresses the challenges that ASEAN encountered, including enhancing competitiveness, narrowing development gaps, and overcoming differences in social and cultural systems.
2. The state of such regional cooperation in ASEAN, including initiatives at the sub- regional level, are examined below through the three dimensions of physical connectivity, institutional connectivity and people-to-people connectivity. ASEAN has put in place numerous programmes and initiatives for building and enhancing regional connectivity, and some good progress have been made. However, substantial work remains to be done to achieve the goal of a seamless regional connectivity.
2.1 Physical Connectivity
3. Physical connectivity, encompassing both hard infrastructure in transport, ICT and energy infrastructure as well as the regulatory framework and the software necessary to deliver associated services and utilities, plays a crucial role in the process toward a more economically and socio-culturally integrated ASEAN region, through trade- and investment- facilitating infrastructure, potential reductions in trade-related costs, and by facilitating people-to-people contact.
2.1.1 Land, Maritime and Air Infrastructure Development
4. Land Transport. ASEAN cooperation in roads and rail aims to establish efficient, integrated, safe and environmentally sustainable regional land transport corridors linking all ASEAN Member States and countries beyond. There are two flagship land transport infrastructure projects within ASEAN, namely the ASEAN Highway Network (AHN) and the Singapore Kunming Rail Link (SKRL).
5. For road infrastructure, the ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) adopted a plan to develop the AHN with the following time-frame at its fifth meeting in Ha Noi, Viet Nam in September 1999:
• Stage 1: Network configuration and designation of national routes to be completed by 2000.
• Stage 2: Installation of road signs at all designated routes, upgrading of all designated routes to at least Class III standards, construction of all missing links and the operationalisation of all cross-border points by 2004.
• Stage 3: All designated routes to be upgraded to at least Class I standards and the upgrading of low traffic volume non-arterial routes to Class II standards would be acceptable by the year 2020.
CHAPTER 2: ACHIEVEMENTS OF, AND CHALLENGES AND IMPEDIMENTS TO ASEAN CONNECTIVITY1. ASEAN has continued to focus its efforts in implementing the ASEAN Charter and the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community. ASEAN Connectivity is a concept that presents the strengths, the potentials, and the challenges for building the ASEAN Community. It builds on the evolution of ASEAN regional cooperation and its achievements to date, and addresses the challenges that ASEAN encountered, including enhancing competitiveness, narrowing development gaps, and overcoming differences in social and cultural systems.2. The state of such regional cooperation in ASEAN, including initiatives at the sub- regional level, are examined below through the three dimensions of physical connectivity, institutional connectivity and people-to-people connectivity. ASEAN has put in place numerous programmes and initiatives for building and enhancing regional connectivity, and some good progress have been made. However, substantial work remains to be done to achieve the goal of a seamless regional connectivity.2.1 Physical Connectivity3. Physical connectivity, encompassing both hard infrastructure in transport, ICT and energy infrastructure as well as the regulatory framework and the software necessary to deliver associated services and utilities, plays a crucial role in the process toward a more economically and socio-culturally integrated ASEAN region, through trade- and investment- facilitating infrastructure, potential reductions in trade-related costs, and by facilitating people-to-people contact.2.1.1 Land, Maritime and Air Infrastructure Development4. Land Transport. ASEAN cooperation in roads and rail aims to establish efficient, integrated, safe and environmentally sustainable regional land transport corridors linking all ASEAN Member States and countries beyond. There are two flagship land transport infrastructure projects within ASEAN, namely the ASEAN Highway Network (AHN) and the Singapore Kunming Rail Link (SKRL).5. For road infrastructure, the ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) adopted a plan to develop the AHN with the following time-frame at its fifth meeting in Ha Noi, Viet Nam in September 1999:• Stage 1: Network configuration and designation of national routes to be completed by 2000.• Stage 2: Installation of road signs at all designated routes, upgrading of all designated routes to at least Class III standards, construction of all missing links and the operationalisation of all cross-border points by 2004.• Stage 3: All designated routes to be upgraded to at least Class I standards and the upgrading of low traffic volume non-arterial routes to Class II standards would be acceptable by the year 2020.
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