[photopress:slikroad_map.jpg,full,alignright]There is a US$18.7 billion project to rebuild the most romantic road that runs across Central Asia. And much more.
Led by the Asian Development Bank, a flock of agencies and countries will pour as much as US$18.7 billion into rebuilding the Silk Road and extending the coverage. Nowadays it is a warren of tracks which runs to its historic terminus at Xian in Shaanxi province city of Xian although today traffic flows all the way to Beijing.
Sean D. O’Sullivan, the director for infrastructure for Central and West Asia for the Asian Development Bank said that, with its deteriorating physical plant, it ‘is the missing link in the whole puzzle of the Eurasian continent.’ And it is the logical extension of China’s Go West policy, which has built or rebuilt roads, railway systems and communications all the way to the border.
Also involved are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank.
The US$18.7 billion will go into six new transport corridors, primarily road and rail links, with about half of the funding coming from multinational organizations, while the rest will come from the countries themselves.
The plan was agreed to by the governments of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. And if you do not find romance in reading those names you will not be forgiven.
Sean O’Sullivan said, ‘These roads go through the passes. There are challenges for keeping them open in the winter, developing railways, but to the south, going towards Afghanistan, there is no railway infrastructure at all, so there is a huge move to do a ring road, so that it would provide the opportunity to the Central Asian countries to access the sea. Further to the east, you cross the Caspian and the Caucasus.
‘I can’t say it is going to be easy.’
So that you can see the extent and the enormity of the plan the illustration from Asia Sentinel has been made somewhat larger than usual.
Source: Asia Sentinel