July 1, 2008 - It is, quite simply, the largest program of transport infrastructure development that has occurred anywhere in the world since the nineteenth century. And it is happening to all modes of transport at the same time. Since 1990, China has built more than 44,000 km of tolled expressways, improved 400,000 km of local and township roads, more than 20,000 km of new railway, and increased the standards and utilization of its major waterways. In air travel, China is now the second biggest market for passenger aircraft in the world after the US, and is planning to build 48 new airports in the next five years. Its seaports were boosted by 120 new berths in 2006 alone, while the new Yangshan megaport being built on an island off Shanghai is likely in due course to become the world’s largest container port. The Challenge The Bank has supported this transport program during the last fifteen years, with a diversified portfolio of nearly 100 lending operations and analytical and advisory services on highways, railways, and  | 
| Railways move people and goods economically
(photo courtesy of Li Li) |
|
inland waterways, and has supported governance and reform in the sector. In Beijing in the closing days of April, the Bank and China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) co-hosted a workshop on legislative reform of China’s huge transport sector. The administration of the transport sector in China has in the past been very fragmented. Until recently, it involved at least four central ministries, each managing infrastructure development programs of awesome scale and ambition. Moreover, much of the infrastructure delivery and regulatory functions are held at provincial and city government levels. In a country in which new expressways, high-speed railways, air and waterway routes are opening up every day, the question is: how do you make sure the outcome is a seamless and comprehensive transport network, not just a series of disconnected modes? The challenge is how the various transport modes can be coordinated to create an efficient, effective, and environmentally sustainable transport system. In short—an integrated transport system. The Four Principles Workshop task team leader John Scales summed up the challenge when he said, “To me, integrated transport means four main things. First, getting each mode of transport doing what it does best, taking account of its economic and environmental features. Second, making sure that the connections and interchanges between the modes are in place and working well. Third, getting the right balance between coordination and competition. And fourth, deciding what can be left to the market and what requires government intervention and regulation.” Designing a Transport Promotion Law | 
| Conferees, left to right: Enrico Grillo-Pasquarelli, director, Inland Transport, Directorate General for Energy and Transport, European Commission, Brussels; Paul Amos, former transport adviser to the World Bank; Wang Qingyun, director-general of transport at National Development and Reform Commission, China; Jeffrey Shane, former under secretary for policy, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, USA; John Lawson, consultant, formerly co-director of research for the Canada Transportation Act; and John Scales, transport sector coordinator, World Bank Office in Beijing
(photo courtesy of Li Li) |
|
To try to answer these questions, the Bank assembled a small but high-level group of Chinese and international experts in transport policy-making who, over two days, scrutinized the possible structure of a proposed new Integrated Transport Promotion Law. Under the joint-chair of Wang Qingyun, director-general of Transport at China’s National Development and Reform Commission, and Paul Amos, former transport adviser to the World Bank, the result was a fusion of both theoretical and practical knowledge, and Chinese and international know-how. Chinese professors, researchers, transport exports, and government officials came together with international transport experts to share experiences.
Key take-away messages included: the importance of making sure the objectives of any new legislation are clearly defined;
consulting with stakeholders to get buy-in; ensuring supportive institutional behavior through positive incentives for integrated solutions; and making sure legislation contains the basis for effective funding of authorized programs.
Next Steps Professor Liu Banglian and his colleagues from the Institute of Transport Economics at the University of Nankai (in Tianjin) helped organize and deliver the program. The institute is charged with bringing the law to a stage where it can be properly evaluated by China’s legislative review process. The drafting team will now take the thoughts of the workshop into their next phase of drafting. The Bank has been requested by Wang Qinyun to continue support of this most important initiative.
Contributed by Li Li, senior external affairs officer, Beijing office |
RSS