Asian Highway Network

The AH project was initiated by the United Nations in 1959 with the aim of promoting the development of international road transport in the region. During the first phase of the project (1960–1970) considerable progress was achieved, however, progress slowed down when financial assistance was suspended in 1975. ESCAP has conducted several projects in cooperation with AH member countries step by step after the endorsement of ALTID in 1992. The Intergovernmental Agreement on the Asian Highway Network (IGA) was adopted on February 28, 1997, by the Intergovernmental Meeting; 37000 kilometers, and was adopted on November 18, 2003, by the Intergovernmental Meeting; the IGA includes Annex I, which identifies 55 AH routes among 32 member countries totalling approximately 140,000 km (87,500 miles), and Annex II "Classification and Design Standards". During the 60th session of the ESCAP Commission at Shanghai, China, in April 2004, the IGA treaty was signed by 23 countries. By 2013, 29 countries had ratified the agreement. In 2007, British drivers Richard Meredith and Phil Colley completed the first full East to West journey of the entire highway in an Aston Martin Vantage which was later sold to raise money for UNICEF. The drive was a marketing stunt promoted by the car manufacturer. ==Implications==

The advanced highway network would provide for greater trade and social interactions between Asian countries, including personal contacts, project capitalizations, connections of major container terminals with transportation points, and promotion of tourism via the new roadways. Infrastructure consultant Om Prakash noted that, "It's an excellent step taken by ESCAP to gather all the Asian countries under one crown but the problem with this project is political disputes between some countries, notably Pakistan and Myanmar, which is delaying the project." ==Future development plans==

Route AH1 is proposed to extend from Tokyo to the border with Bulgaria (EU) west of Istanbul and Edirne, passing through both Koreas, China and other countries in Southeast, Central and South Asia. The corridor is expected to improve trade links between East Asian countries, India and Russia. To complete the route, existing roads will be upgraded and new roads constructed to link the network. has been spent or committed with additional US$18 billion needed for upgrades and improvements to of highway. ==Numbering and signage==

The project new highway route numbers begin with "AH", standing for "Asian Highway", followed by one, two or three digits. Route numbers are printed in the Latin script and Hindu-Arabic numerals and may simply be added to existing signage, like the E-road network. ==Routes==

AH1 to AH9: Continent-Wide Routes • East-West, from S to N: 2, 1 intermixed, 5, 9, 6. • North-South, from E to W: 1 (along East China), 3, 4, 7, 8. • – : Tokyo, Japan – Bulgarian border, Turkey Bulgaria – Kapıkule – Istanbul – Gerede – Ankara – Sivas – Refahiye – Aşkale – Doğubayazıt – Gürbulak – Bazargan – Ivughli – Tabriz – Qazvin – Tehran – Semnan – Damghan – Sabzevar – Neishabour-Mashhad – Dowqarun –Islam Qala – Herat – Delaram – Kandahar – Kabul – Torkham –Peshawar – Hassan Abdal – Rawalpindi – Islamabad – Lahore – Wagah – Attari – New Delhi – Agra – Kanpur – Varanasi – Sasaram –Gaya–Dhanbad– Kolkata – Petrapole – Benapole – Jashore – Dhaka – Kachpur – Sylhet – Tamabil – Dawki – Shillong – Jorabat – Guwahati – Nagaon – Dimapur – Chümoukedima – Kohima – Viswema – Imphal – Moreh – Tamu – Mandalay – Meiktila – Payagyi – Yangon – Myawaddy – Mae Sot – Tak – Nakhon Sawan – Bang Pa-in – Bangkok – Hin Kong – Kabin Buri – Aranyaprathet – Poipet – Phnom Penh – Bavet – Mộc Bài – Ho Chi Minh City – Biên Hòa – Vũng Tàu – Nha Trang – Hội An – Da Nang – Huế – Đông Hà – Vinh – Hanoi – Đồng Đăng – Hữu Nghị –Youyiguan – Nanning – Guangzhou – Shenzhen – Hong Kong – Xiangtan – Changsha – Wuhan – Xinyang – Zhengzhou – Shijiazhuang – Beijing – Shenyang – Dandong – Sinuiju – Pyongyang – Kaesong – Munsan – Seoul – Daejeon – Daegu – Gyeongju – Busan – Fukuoka – Tokyo • – : Denpasar, Indonesia – Khosravi, Iran • Border of Bulgaria – Kapikule – Istanbul – Gerede – Merzifon – Samsun – Trabzon – Sarp – • Batumi – Poti – Senaki – (Port of Anaklia – Zugdidi bypass road – Samtredia) Khashuri – Mtskheta – Tbilisi – • Red Bridge – Qazax – Ganja – Gazi Mammed – Alat – Baku ... • Turkmenbashi – Serdar – Ashgabat – Tejen – Mary – Turkmenabat – Farap – • Olot – Bukhara – Navoi – Samarkand – Syrdaria – Tashkent – Chernyavka – • Chernyaevka – Shymkent – Merki – • Chaldovar – Kara Balta – Bishkek – • Kordai – Kaskelen – Almaty – • Khorgas – Jinghe – Kuytun – Ürümqi – Turpan – Lanzhou – Xi'an – Xinyang – Nanjing – Shanghai • – : Busan, South Korea – Belarusian border, Russia • St. Petersburg – Moscow – Ulyanovsk – Toliatti – Samara – Orenburg – Sagarchin – • Zhaisan – Aktobe – Kyzylorda – Shymkent – Taraz – Almaty – • Khorgas – Urumqi – Lianyungang AH10 to AH29: Southeast Asia Routes • – : Vientiane, Laos – Sihanoukville, Cambodia • Đà Nẵng – Kon Tum – Pleiku – Ho Chi Minh – Vũng Tàu • – : Hat Yai, Thailand – Johor Bahru Causeway, Malaysia Laoag, Philippines – Zamboanga, Philippines • Laoag – Tuguegarao – Guiguinto – Quezon City (– Manila – Makati) – Makati – Calamba – Legazpi – Matnog ... Allen – Tacloban (– Ormoc City ... Cebu City) – Liloan ... Surigao – Butuan – Davao (– Cagayan de Oro) – General Santos – Cotabato City – Zamboanga AH30 to AH39: East Asia and Northeast Asia Routes AH40 to AH59: South Asian Routes AH60 to AH89: North Asia, Central Asia and Southwest Asia Routes AH100 to AH299: ASEAN Southeast Asia Routes These routes were set up by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as part of an extension to the Asian Highway Network, known as the ASEAN Highway Network. ==Distance by country or region==

The planned network runs a total of . ==See also==