Maritime Trade and Transport - HWWI

In view of the planned expansion of the Chinese road network by 400,000 km, this distribution
in the Asia-Pacific region seems absolutely realistic. On the Asian Highway alone –
with its 140,000 km, it is the backbone of the Asian road network – some 26,000 km in 16
member states require repairs or improvements. Another 12% are in such poor condition that
the minimal requirements for paved roads are not even fulfilled. Otherwise, they are equivalent
to the situation in the USA and Europe between 1948 and 1963. On the whole, it is clear
that in the Far East the emphasis of government action is on the construction of lacking in -
frastructure, that is, the “hardware.”
In China, investments in the transport sector, in view of the increasing transport volume
and rapidly growing private car ownership, amounted in 2004 alone to $88 bn. More than
two-thirds of this amount were invested in roads. Over 46,000 km of highways were built, and
over 150,000 km of main roads and divided highways were overhauled. By 2010, 14 new
highways (including Beijing – Hong Kong) are to be built. Planned by the year 2020, in ad -
dition, is the construction of 400,000 km of roads in rural districts, so that 80% of all towns
will then be connected with one another or with major roads. The OECD estimates the annual
volume of investments in infrastructure in this context at $24 bn. Between 2020 and 2030,
an additional increase of $38 bn annually is expected. This mammoth program can only be
compared with the United States, where, between 1948 and 1960, some 32,000 to 53,000 km
of highways were built annually.
At present, 73% of PRC transport volume is road traffic, while an additional 15% falls
to the railroads. 12% of the transport volume is waterborne, especially when large distances are
involved. By ton-kilometers, the share of inland shipping in the modal split increases to 60%. 3
The growing transport amounts are also prompting China, not least in consideration of the
environmental burden, to focus its attention during the coming decades on alternative means
of transport, such as rail and water networks.
Planned outlays for railroad infrastructure until 2020 amount to approximately $250 bn (including
private investments) for the expansion of the railroad network to 100,000 km. Currently
this network totals 75,000 km, equivalent to one-sixth of the world rail transport network. In
terms of freight volume, on the other hand, the Chinese railroad network is the world’s largest.
The freight volume conveyed over the railroad tracks in 2004 amounted to 1,724 bn ton-kilometers.
4 Some 60% of the lines are single-track, so that, in addition to new construction, top
priority is being given to investments in the expansion of a two-track network and/or a separation
between passenger and freight transport. During the 2006–2010 planning period, the
most urgent railroad-related infrastructure projects include the construction of six new longdistance
(including Beijing – Shanghai), as well as five new Intercity lines.
3 See National Bureau of Statistics of China (2006). Data for the first half of 2006.
4 See ESCAP (2005).
80 Berenberg Bank · HWWI: Strategy 2030 · No. 4