ASEAN launches MPAC 2025-
With the vision of ASEAN leaders to build a comprehensive ASEAN community, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025 was recently adopted to implement the second pillar of the ASEAN Economic Community blueprint. This plan succeeds the MPAC 2010 that adopted a three-pronged approach of developing physical, institutional and people-to-people linkages between member states to bolster the achievement of an integrated ASEAN community. The plan is ASEAN’s flagship project to realise a closer and more integrated Southeast Asian region.
Review of MPAC 2010
Since the adoption of MPAC 2010, notable progress has been made. Around 39 initiatives have been completed, of which 18 relate to physical connectivity, 15 to institutional connectivity, and six to people-to-people connectivity. The remaining 52 initiatives have a clear sector owner and do not overlap with the newly proposed initiatives under MPAC 2025.
With respect to the transport sector, significant progress has been made with regard to the implementation of the ASEAN Highway Network (AHN). The implementation of the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) sections from Singapore to Phnom Penh is also on schedule. Moreover, the feasibility study on the establishment of an ASEAN roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) shipping network and short-sea shipping has already been completed. ASEAN member states will now focus on operationalising the three priority routes, which are the Dumai-Melaka, the Belawan-Penang-Phuket, and the Davao/ General Santos-Bitung routes.
Regarding institutional initiatives, both the Air Transport Economic Cooperation Work Plan (2014-15) and Air Transport Technical Cooperation Work Plan (2014-15) have been adopted to further facilitate the establishment of the ASEAN single aviation market. The implementation framework for the ASEAN single shipping market, including its action plan, has also been developed. Moreover, three transport facilitation agreements of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit, ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation on Inter-State Transport and ASEAN Framework Agreement on Multimodal Transport are currently under way to further enhance the effectiveness of the transport network.
However, there are a number of issues that have hampered the full realisation of the master plan. Attracting funds through public-private partnership has faltered primarily due to project feasibility issues. Unless ASEAN improves the investment environment, it will be unable to attract stakeholders to assist in financing ASEAN initiatives. Moreover, the uneven levels of development will deter the technical and financial capability of member states to implement ASEAN connectivity. There is need for a sectoral body to spearhead the various projects under the master plan.
Need for a new master plan
With time, certain trends have emerged in ASEAN’s dynamic environment, which have direct implications on the transport aspect of ASEAN’s connectivity agenda. These include the challenge to balance the decline in the size of the workforce with sustained economic progress by improving productivity; the likelihood of nearly 90 million more people moving to cities within ASEAN by 2030; the need for infrastructure spending to more than double historical levels; and the criticality of understanding the implications for ASEAN as the world shifts towards a multi-polar global power structure.
These trends have led to a need for more than $110 billion of investment in ASEAN’s infrastructure annually. Logistics costs also need to be reduced substantially by improving the productivity of infrastructure. Additional infrastructure spends need to be made to ensure the growth of middleweight cities (cities with populations from 150,000 to 10 million) in ASEAN.
What MPAC 2025 has in store
The primary objective of the master plan (MPAC 2025) is to create a competitive economic region by focusing on five strategic areas – sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, seamless logistics, regulatory excellence, and people mobility. Since it is aware of the criticality of a well-developed and organised transport infrastructure in driving economic growth, ASEAN’s leadership recently published its 2016-25 ASEAN Strategic Transport Action Plan. This initiative aims to analyse ASEAN’s current infrastructure and recognise key areas to develop to establish the region as a single market and production base. It also aims to improve the planning, delivery and operations of infrastructure through an expanded and well-integrated land, air and maritime transport system. Moreover, enhancing ASEAN’s connectivity with China, South Korea and Japan will be the central focus of the plan, along with the alignment of ASEAN’s transport network to combine China’s “One road, One belt” project.
Regarding land transport infrastructure, which includes roads and rail, the strategic transport action plan emphasises the following two major projects initiated under MPAC 2010. The large infrastructure projects that are being promoted by the strategic transport plan include the AHN project which aims to connect all ASEAN member states and countries through land transport corridors. Upgrading roads within ASEAN’s designated transit transport routes and completing the missing links remains the key focus of this project. The SKRL project aims to construct a circular rail link connecting the capital cities in all mainland ASEAN countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam and Myanmar. Besides the two sections of the SKRL under construction, it is likely that the project will be extended to Surabaya in Indonesia as well.
In addition to these large-scale infrastructure projects, the strategic transport plan will focus on other initiatives including upgrading infrastructure through the installation of common road signs, route numbering, and the use of the intelligent transport system. Moreover, it aims to improve road safety in the coming 10 years. Collectively, ASEAN leaders plan to improve public safety and awareness through road safety training in schools, road safety information, campaigns and other initiatives. All these reforms will be centred on motor transport.
Under air transport, ASEAN’s Strategic Transport Plan aims to establish the ASEAN single aviation market by further liberalising air services. In the past, like the ASEAN-China Air Transport Agreement and its protocol on unlimited third and fourth freedom traffic rights between contracting parties, future air agreements are likely to incorporate greater traffic rights for ASEAN service providers. Parties that ASEAN is currently considering establishing agreements with are the EU, India, Japan and Korea.
The plan also aims to enhance aviation safety through international harmonisation. This agreement looks to adopt regulations such as those listed by the International Civil Aviation Organization. It also aims to establish an environment-friendly aviation market, as emissions from aviation operations are expected to rise with the industry growing, posing significant risk of climate change.
ASEAN’s Strategic Transport Plan also aims to enhance airport infrastructure to prepare for greater outbound and inbound air traffic movements within ASEAN. More importantly, it will focus on undertaking projects to construct regional terminals and low-cost carrier terminals.
With respect to the maritime sector, the Strategic Transport Plan aims to establish the ASEAN single shipping market. The initiatives within the policy are to enhance the capacity of 47 regional ports, including mega ports such as those in Singapore and Malacca, and develop an efficient and integrated inland waterway transport network within the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) nations.
The way forward
The ASEAN Strategic Transport Plan 2016-2025 plans to holistically overlook the operations being undertaken in ASEAN with respect to augmenting transportation within the region. The sheer complexity of the various groups implementing different projects places the onus on MPAC 2025 to coordinate the numerous initiatives taken under the plan.
