On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Japan-ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation, this series looks back on the trust and development that Japan and JICA have built with ASEAN, and features a vision of partnership for the future. In the third and final installment of this series, JICA staff and others drove along the Southern Economic Corridor, a major economic artery that links ASEAN countries by road, to learn about the current state of connectivity and the challenges that lie ahead to strengthen it. The tour was conducted by JICA staff members.
Tsubasa Bridge on the Southern Economic Corridor
Strengthening connectivity to stimulate cross-border traffic
The Southern Economic Corridor is a major transportation and logistics artery that traverses the southern Indochina Peninsula for approximately 1,000 km from Vietnam to Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. JICA, together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank, has been cooperating in the development of the Southern Economic Corridor for more than 20 years in order to improve connectivity within the region through the comprehensive development of transportation infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and to facilitate the active movement of people and goods across national borders.
The smooth flow of traffic along the cross-border economic corridors is one indicator of the connectivity of the region, so how is cooperation to strengthen connectivity, which is indispensable for ASEAN’s development, functioning and what are the future challenges? This past October, JICA staff and experts actually traveled along the 900-km Southern Economic Corridor from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and then to Bangkok, Thailand, visiting companies and industrial parks operating along the corridor. They visited companies and industrial parks operating along the corridor to explore the current status and challenges of connectivity within the ASEAN region, including road maintenance, trade facilitation, and business development.
JICA mainly provides cooperation in the “Southern Economic Corridor” and “East-West Economic Corridor” in the Mekong region.
The distance between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok in the Southern Economic Corridor traveled this time is equivalent to the distance between Tokyo and Hiroshima in Japan.
Physical connectivity that has had a marked effect
On Cambodia’s National Highway 1, which connects the Vietnamese border with the capital Phnom Penh, there are many trucks and international buses loaded with containers, and we have witnessed a dramatic increase in logistics and traffic between the two countries.
Yukihiro Koizumi, deputy director of JICA’s Social Infrastructure Department, who is in charge of infrastructure development, speaks with a real sense of reality about the current status of National Route 1, which Japan has been supporting through JICA since 2000. He says that the construction of National Route 1 has reduced the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh from 12 hours in 2001 to 6 hours.
In addition, the road improvement of National Highway 5, which connects Phnom Penh to the Thai border (Japan has been supporting its maintenance since 2013), is almost completed with two lanes on each side*). The section from Phnom Penh to Battambang, which previously took about 8 hours at 30 km/h, can now be traveled smoothly at 90 km/h (the specified speed). We felt that this National Highway 5 had a remarkable effect on reducing travel time,” said Deputy Director Yukihiro Koizumi.
The Tsubasa Bridge over the Mekong River in Cambodia, which was completed in 2015 with the cooperation of Japan, recorded a daily traffic volume of about 15,000 vehicles (passenger car equivalent) after the bridge was opened, compared to a daily capacity of about 5,000 vehicles (passenger car equivalent) for ferries, which were the means of crossing the river before the bridge was built. The physical connectivity between Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as between Cambodia and Thailand, has improved dramatically due to the state of road development and the increase in traffic, he said. At the same time, however, the Southern Economic Corridor as a whole, where the three countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand work together to expand the flow of goods and people, is not fully functioning at present, according to Mr. Koizumi. One of the reasons for this, he said, is that the development of the customs clearance system, including complicated cross-border procedures, has not progressed as expected.
National Highway No. 5: Since approximately 90% of the total 366 km of JICA’s cooperative section has been completed, a completion ceremony was held at the site on November 22, 2023, in the presence of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Cambodia National Highway No. 5 connecting Phnom Penh and the Thai border (before maintenance) Cambodia National Highway No. 5 (after maintenance)
Tsubasa Bridge completed in 2015 Yukihiro Koizumi, Deputy Director of the Social Infrastructure Department, talks about his experience as a resident in the Cambodia office for four years from 2000.
Connectivity issues identified at border crossing
Tomomi Tokuori, JICA International Cooperation Specialist in charge of trade facilitation and the customs field, discusses the current status of cross-border procedures as follows.
Although customs and immigration offices have been computerized in many countries, they also require the submission of original declaration documents, which is a double hassle for corridor users such as private companies. In addition, although inter-ministerial systems are linked to some extent through the “Single Window,” which consolidates trade procedures at a single window, the process is completed domestically and has not progressed to the point of linking with neighboring countries.
Cambodia has introduced Off-Border Clearance, which requires that customs clearance procedures be carried out not at the border but at a nearby Special Economic Zone (SEZ) or dry port (inland port), while Vietnam handles customs clearance at the border, and Thailand also handles customs clearance at the border, but people and cargo must be processed separately. The role and form of borders in the three countries are also different.
In Africa, regional integration has deepened to a certain extent, and One Stop Border Post (OSBP), which allows customs clearance, entry and exit, and other procedures that used to be carried out in each country to be done in one place, is being introduced. Noting that institutional connectivity is more advanced in Africa than in Asia, Tokuori says that it is necessary to find a way to facilitate trade that is in line with the current situation in Asia.
Tomomi Tokuori, International Cooperation Specialist, Governance and Peacebuilding Department, JICA A truck waits for the Cambodian border to open at the halfway point (called No man’s land) from the Moc Bai border (Vietnam) to the Babette border (Cambodia). If there are incomplete documents, it may take several days to complete the procedure.
Importance of building a consensus-building system
Seiichi Negishi, Manager of the Governance and Finance Team, Governance Group, Governance and Peacebuilding Department, said that the different ways of perceiving borders in each country showed that Vietnam and Thailand, with their growing economies, focus on immigration and smuggling control measures, while Cambodia focuses on securing customs revenues. Cambodia, on the other hand, is focusing on securing tariff revenues. He also noted that, “Although the roads are connected as a corridor, each country is looking in different directions due to the complex intertwining of interests and diplomatic relations.
Therefore, in order to strengthen connectivity in the region, it is necessary to create a mechanism for bordering countries to get together, mutually recognize the institutional challenges of cross-border procedures, including customs clearance, and work together to discuss and reach a consensus on how to improve these procedures,” said Mr. Negishi. In the support of corridor development in Africa, JICA has been working to harmonize procedures and processes by providing regular opportunities for border agencies to meet and deepen their understanding of each other’s operations and procedures, he said. In the Southern Economic Corridor, “JICA will play a mediating role and work to create positive effects for trade facilitation in the region,” he said enthusiastically.
Seiichi Negishi, Manager, Governance Group, Governance and Peacebuilding Department, Administrative and Financial Affairs Team
Specialist Tokuori (center row, far right) and Section Chief Negishi (far left) interview officials at the Babette Customs Office on the border between Vietnam and Cambodia.
Strengthening people-to-people ties based on years of cooperation
When we discussed future regional cooperation with the Cambodian Customs Department (Directorate General of Customs and Excise), the person we spoke to was Mr. Khun Nem, who had been involved in JICA’s cooperation on customs risk management in the region more than 10 years ago. He remembered those days well and expressed his desire to make use of that experience for better cooperation in the future.”
He is hopeful that JICA’s long-standing network of cooperation will be utilized to connect people within the region to share knowledge for further growth. In the field of ports, a human resources network called “Port Alumni” has already been established with participants of related projects and training programs in Asia and the Pacific, forming a forum for learning from each other.
In addition, through visiting and interviewing Japanese companies operating along the Southern Economic Corridor, the participants were able to gain significant hints for promoting cooperation with the private sector, according to Mr. Watanabe. Through direct dialogue and contact with local lifestyles and work styles, we were able to hear the true feelings of the companies, which we could not have learned through surveys or online meetings,” said Deputy Director Watanabe.
Deputy Director Watanabe, who was stationed in Vietnam 10 years ago, said he was once again overwhelmed by the growth momentum and power of ASEAN after traveling along the Southern Economic Corridor. He said that the time has come for JICA to play the role of a facilitator, working with the private sector as well as other countries, so that the strengths and characteristics of each country and economic entity in the region can be fully utilized.
Visit to a manufacturing plant in the Sakaeo Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Thailand Daisuke Watanabe, Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia and Oceania Department
Identify issues from multiple perspectives and change the status quo
This mission was initiated to study the current situation by actually driving along the economic corridor,” says Takashi Baba, Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia and Pacific Department and Deputy Director of the South Asia Department. The mission started with this in mind. With connectivity as the key word, he says, not only JICA’s country-specific divisions but also those in charge of infrastructure development, trade facilitation, and other areas, experts, and local office staff visited the sites together to identify cross-country and regional issues from multiple perspectives.
For example, we have learned that companies in the electrical, electronics, and automobile industries, which the Cambodian government has flagged, are hesitant to enter these industries due to a lack of human resources. If this is the case, JICA should be able to create a win-win situation by utilizing its connections with both the Cambodian government and private companies to promote cooperation to support the development of industrial human resources in Cambodia. As a practitioner of development cooperation, Mr. Baba believes it is important to take a more proactive approach.
Deputy Director Takashi Baba of the Southeast Asia and Oceania Department and South Asia Department Cai Mep Chi Bai International Port in Vietnam, where a large container ship was laid up. The port was built 10 years ago with Japanese assistance. During the survey, “the port has been transformed into a vibrant place, and I realized the momentum of Vietnam’s growth,” said Baba Takashi, Deputy Director of the Southeast Asia & Oceania and South Asia Department.
Deputy Director Baba said, “This mission was significant in that it looked at countries, regions, and sectors from a cross-cutting and multidisciplinary perspective. He said that while in the past JICA has often faced issues on a country-by-country and sector-by-sector basis and worked toward cooperation to resolve them, in the future JICA may be able to create added value by coordinating, mediating, and cooperating across multiple countries and sectors.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, the current situation and challenges that came to light through this mission. We will use this as a springboard for future cooperation looking ahead to the next 10 to 20 years, and we will continue to work together toward a future in which ASEAN and Japan will grow together as partners.
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