Handbook on cross-border transport along the Asian highway network
Abstract
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) developed the Handbook on Cross-Border Transport along the Asian Highway Network under the project “Enhancing Efficiency and Effectiveness of Cross-Border Transport on the Asian Highway Network” financed by the Government of China. The Handbook was developed following a region-wide survey and in cooperation with relevant officials and other stakeholders in countries which have land borders with each other. It provides information of overall status of border crossings and routes covered by the Asian Highway Network for cross-border road transport operations. It is also expected to set a baseline by taking stock of the basic requirements regarding documentation and formalities in cross-border transport by road, helping in further measuring the effects of transport facilitation measures such as removing bottlenecks and improving operational conditions. The Handbook can also be used as a source of practical information and a tool for policy makers, transport operators, freight forwarders and other logistics service providers and other stakeholders in relation with border crossing processes and formalities.
The Handbook includes a set of indicators which have been developed to measure cross-border performance between two countries on Asian Highway Network, identifying existing bottlenecks and opportunities for an improvement. The indicators and their variable elements stem from the Regional Strategic Framework for the Facilitation of International Road Transport adopted at the Ministerial Conference on Transport on 12-16 March 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.
