"FREE FLOW" OF THAI, VIET COMMERCIAL TRUCKS THROUGH LAOS

By D. Arul Rajoo

BANGKOK, June 11 (Bernama) -- About 1,200 commercial trucks from Thailand,
Vietnam and Laos are able to enter into one another's territories for the first
time to deliver and pick up goods following Thursday's formal exchange of
traffic rights and introduction of a regional customs transit system.

Overland shipments between Thailand and Vietnam along the East-West Economic
Corridor - which runs from Danang in Vietnam through Savannakhet in Laos and
into Thailand - can now proceed directly to their final destination without
having to unload and re-load in Laotian territory.

The latest initiative, in tandem with the recently implemented single-window
and single-stop border inspections, will sharply reduce overland transport time
and boost trade and economic development.

"Ten years after Laos, Thailand and Vietnam first agreed to ease
cross-border traffic rules, the promise of that agreement is truly being
realised," said Arjun Thapan, director-general of the Asian Development Bank's
Southeast Asia Department.

He said narrow dirt trails once used to transport refugees and military
hardware have given way to modern highways carrying electronic goods, exotic
fruits and tourists.

Initially, 400 vehicles from each country have been provided with permits to
enter the other countries.

Under the Cross Border Transport Agreement, some goods shipments can be
certified as "low risk", allowing the shipments to be fast-tracked at
border-crossing checkpoints.

Container seals will now be routinely accepted for the duration of the
transit route, which will impede theft and damage previously caused by multiple
container openings and unloadings.

ADB first supported the development of the East-West Economic Corridor
through a US$57-million concessional loan in 1999, primarily to fund the
construction and upgrade of roads in Vietnam and Laos which are now part of the
Asian Highway.

"Building international-standard roads was an important start, but not
enough by itself. Governments also had to slash the bureaucratic red tape that
restricted the cross-border flow of goods and people," he said.

Since the completion of the second Mekong Bridge in December 2006 - the last
link of the corridor - trade has already dramatically increased, and today's
historical event is expected to further reduce transport costs, producing even
more dramatic increases in inter-regional trade volumes.
-- BERNAMA