Asean to be connected by roads and railways

Roads & rail lines from China & India gradually extending into Asean, driving from Shanghai to Paris by road non-stop, one day soon a reality.

Read the full version of this long article here.

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Economics

Missing links

Mekong region countries must turn ambitious plans for transport links into reality in order to tap their full economic potential
27/08/2012
Nalin Viboonchart

Countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) need to collaborate in creating more road, rail and maritime links to connect with the major transport routes in each country in order to create true connectivity, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

More roads and rail lines from Asia’s two biggest economies – China and India – are gradually being extended into Asean through the GMS countries. Their completion could bring about major changes in the way goods are shipped to and from Asia, as well as reduce costs and improve competitiveness

India recently announced plans to build a highway running from Kolkata to Ho Chi Minh City via Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. China’s trade, meanwhile, could benefit from the Singapore Kunming Rail Link (SKRL), which will greatly facilitate logistics from Asia’s largest economy to the world’s fastest growing region. Some transport planners even like to spin visions of being able to drive from Shanghai to Paris without a hitch.

However, for most countries the real work still remains to be done at home. They need to create better internal links from their rural hinterlands to backbone road, rail and maritime networks, said Arjun Goswami, director for regional cooperation and operations coordination in Southeast Asia with the ADB.

The GMS countries have plans on the drawing board for backbone transport linking Yunnan and Guanxi provinces in China with the countries in the Mekong basin: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. These five countries along with Yunnan cover 2.6 million square kilometres with a combined population of 326 million. ...

... Road density for Asean nations also remains low, averaging about 11 kilometres per 1,000 people (in Myanmar the figure is just 2km). According to the World Bank, road density in 2009 in Laos was 17 km of road per 100 square kilometres of land area. The figure for Thailand in 2006, the last year for which data were available, was 35 km. ... 

... With movement of goods and people expected to expand rapidly after 2015 when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is formed, already strained transport systems will be overwhelmed. Quality improvement of road networks, missing railway links, inadequate maritime and port infrastructure all need to be addressed. 

Thailand and Laos have been doing their part with three bridges over the Mekong River and plans for a fourth, costing 1.4 billion baht, between Chiang Rai in northern Thailand and Bo Keo in Laos....  [Read the rest of this long article here]

(Source: Bangkok Post, Economics, Missing links, Mekong region countries must turn ambitious plans for transport links into reality in order to tap their full economic potential, 27/08/2012, Nalin Viboonchart, link)


Transportation Vocabulary

transportation (noun) - การขนส่ง
transport (verb, noun, adjective)  - to move people or things from one place to another ขนส่ง
transport systems

links - connections ความเชื่อมโยงกัน
missing links - links that are not there yet, that do not exist  yet
transport links
railway links

railway - a set of connected tracks and trains that run over it used to transport people and goods to places (See Wikipedia)
port - a place where boats and ships can stop do passengers can get off and goods (cargo) be unloaded
road networks - a set of connected roads running through a country or region

maritime - involving ships or the business of moving people and goods in ships ทางทะเล related to the sea เกี่ยวกับทะเล
rail and maritime links

route - a way to get from one place to another place (a road, rail line, etc)
transport routes

connection - Same as "link"
connectivity - when different places are linked together, connected together in different ways

ambitious - goals are very high and difficult to achieve (perhaps even too high to be achieved) ทะเยอทยาน
ambitious plans

reality - actually happening ความเป็นจริง
turn into reality

potential - the possibility of success ที่มีศักยภาพ ที่เป็นไปได้
economic potential
full economic potential

tap - use 
tap their full economic potential

collaborate - to work together with someone else ร่วมมือ

Mekong region countries must turn ambitious plans for transport links into reality in order to tap their full economic potential. Countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) need to collaborate in creating more road, rail and maritime links to connect with the major transport routes in each country in order to create true connectivity, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

rail lines - train tracks that you can travel from place to place with

extend - make longer
gradually being extended into Asean

bring about - make something happen
bring about major changes in the way goods are shipped to and from Asia

improve - to make better ทำให้ดีขึ้น
competitiveness - how well a business can do compared to other firms (does it have lower price or higher quality?) การแข่งขัน
improve competitiveness

More roads and rail lines from Asia’s two biggest economies – China and India – are gradually being extended into Asean through the GMS countries. Their completion could bring about major changes in the way goods are shipped to and from Asia, as well as reduce costs and improve competitiveness

trade - the buying and selling of goods การค้าขาย
benefit - to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์ to help someone มีประโยชน์ต่อ
Singapore Kunming Rail Link (SKRL)
facilitate - help; to make it possible or easier for something to happen ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น
facilitate logistics
spin visions of being able to drive from Shanghai to Paris without a hitch.
logistics - the activity of transporting, storing, and tracking goods (being sent from one place to another) (See Wikipedia) การขนส่งสินค้า การขนส่งและจัดจำหน่ายสินค้า

India recently announced plans to build a highway running from Kolkata to Ho Chi Minh City via Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. China’s trade, meanwhile, could benefit from the Singapore Kunming Rail Link (SKRL), which will greatly facilitate logistics from Asia’s largest economy to the world’s fastest growing region. Some transport planners even like to spin visions of being able to drive from Shanghai to Paris without a hitch.

internal - existing or happening inside a person, object, organisation, place or country ภายใน
rural - in the countryside (farms, forests), not the city   ในชนบท, บ้านนอก

backbone - 1. the main transportation system at the center, local transportation connect to it; 2. the central bone that holds the body up and serves as pathway for nerves

backbone network
backbone road network
backbone rail network
backbone maritime network
backbone transport linking A to B

internal links from their rural hinterlands to backbone road, rail and maritime networks

cooperation - work together towards a goal ความร่วมมือกัน
regional cooperation - cooperation between Asean countries

coordination - the act of making all the people involved in a plan or activity work together in an organised way การประสานกัน
operations coordination

plans on the drawing board - still in the planning stage

population - the group of people who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
population of 326 million

However, for most countries the real work still remains to be done at home. They need to create better internal links from their rural hinterlands to backbone road, rail and maritime networks, said Arjun Goswami, director for regional cooperation and operations coordination in Southeast Asia with the ADB. The GMS countries have plans on the drawing board for backbone transport linking Yunnan and Guanxi provinces in China with the countries in the Mekong basin: Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. These five countries along with Yunnan cover 2.6 million square kilometres with a combined population of 326 million. ...

density - the number of people or things in an area
road density - number of roads per unit area (100 square kilometers, for example)

figure - an amount   จำนวน
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล

... Road density for Asean nations also remains low
in Myanmar the figure is just 2km
the last year for which data were available

... Road density for Asean nations also remains low, averaging about 11 kilometres per 1,000 people (in Myanmar the figure is just 2km). According to the World Bank, road density in 2009 in Laos was 17 km of road per 100 square kilometres of land area. The figure for Thailand in 2006, the last year for which data were available, was 35 km. ... 

expand - to become larger ขายตัวออกไป
expected to expand rapidly

strained - being put under pressure, business has become more difficult
strained transport systems

address problem - solve a problem
need to be addressed  

improvement - when something gets better or when you make it better การปรับปรุง, การทำให้ดีขึ้น
quality improvement needs to be addressed

movement of goods and people

overwhelmed - have too much work to handle or deal with
already strained transport systems will be overwhelmed

port - an area of water where ships stop, including the buildings around it ท่าเรือ
infrastructure - the high-cost facilities that everyone in the economy shares (water, roads, electricity, trains) สาธารณูปโภค
port infrastructure - container cargo terminals, unloading equipment and places for ships to dock

inadequate - not enough, or not good enough for a particular purpose อย่างไม่เพียงพอ
inadequate maritime and port infrastructure

doing their part - helping in a project (with many people working together)

... With movement of goods and people expected to expand rapidly after 2015 when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is formed, already strained transport systems will be overwhelmed. Quality improvement of road networks, missing railway links, inadequate maritime and port infrastructure all need to be addressed.  Thailand and Laos have been doing their part with three bridges over the Mekong River and plans for a fourth, costing 1.4 billion baht, between Chiang Rai in northern Thailand and Bo Keo in Laos....