Asian Highway Network: the modern silk route is shaping up

Conceived in 1959, the Asian Highway(AH) Network took off with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) promoting it through the past two decades. A big breakthrough came in April 2004 when 23 Asian countries signed the Asian Highway agreement in the 60th session of UNESCAP at Shanghai, China, aptly the country that set off the glorious silk route to Europe in a previous golden era.

The Asian Highway (AH) project is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve the highway systems in Asia.

In June this year, the 141,204-kilometer Asian Highway network slotted into place completed sections linking Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. The US$144.77 million construction bill was partly financed by the Asian Development Bank.

The $44 billion Asian Highway network weaves through 32 countries, connects Asia with Europe, and promises to boost regional economies by facilitating trade and tourism through its linkage of Asian seaports, airports and major tourist destinations. It also fleshes out dreams of a Pan-Asian community with a common socio-political-economic identity analogous to the European Union.

A total of $26 billion has already been invested in the Asian Highway and $18 billion more is needed, says UNESCAP and eighty-three percent of the network is considered ready.