CAREC Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring

The Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring (CPMM) mechanism is an empirical tool designed by the CAREC Program to assess and track the time and cost of moving goods across borders and along the six CAREC corridors, spanning the 11 participating countries—Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The CPMM evaluates a set of trade facilitation indicators (TFIs) to illustrate the overall annual performance and efficiency of the CAREC corridors. Measured over time and across corridors, the indicators provide a comparative picture that allows the assessment and validation of impacts of transport and trade initiatives in the region. The TFIs include (i) time taken to clear a border-crossing point (BCP), (ii) cost incurred at a BCP, (iii) cost incurred to travel a corridor sector, and (iv) speed to travel along CAREC corridors.

While the 2019 CPMM report is gettering ready for publication in Q2 2020, the 2018 CPMM data analysis demonstrated steady average improvement in speed without delay (which increased by 3% for road transport and 9% for rail), largely attributed to the success of physical and connectivity infrastructure investment along the CAREC corridors. Delays at the border declined for road transport by an average of 22%, and rail by an average of 20%, resulting in improved speed with delay by up to 5.5% for road and 7.8% for rail. However, these delays remain a major impediment to efficient trade. Furthermore, the average cost to clear a border crossing and the cost incurred to travel a corridor section remain low.

The CPMM report identifies country-level developments and challenges to assist national policy makers in determining the necessary focus of national strategies to address both national and regional transport, trade, and trade facilitation issues. Read more here.

Silk Road Knowledge Corridors: Policy Dialogue Proceedings

The CAREC Institute policy dialogue proceedings emerged from a session on the Silk Road Knowledge Dialogue in the framework of the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum held in October 2019 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The session was organized jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the CAREC Institute to generate a dialogue on the role of knowledge corridors in strengthening economic corridors along the Silk Road.

The objectives of knowledge corridors are not different from those of the economic corridors. Economic corridors, interlinked through hard and soft infrastructure, are used for trade in goods and services leading to increased positive dependencies, value chains, and enhanced economic activity, which contribute to greater regional integration. Knowledge corridors, on the other hand, enable standardization and systemic approach to regional transport, trade, energy, and other sector development.

Rapid advancement in information and communication technology, reduction in time and cost, better access to information and data sharing, and higher connectivity and mobility facilitate knowledge exchange and partnership at a greater degree. The region with its comparatively young and well-educated population can benefit significantly from these emerging platforms for knowledge sharing and exchange.

Read more here.