Bbin Mva

• ed when SAARC at its 18th Summit in Kathmandu failed to sign a SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement in November 2014-chiefly because of Pakistan.
• Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal have signed a sub-regional Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) in June 2015 for regulation of passenger, personnel and cargo vehicular traff

• The BBIN project was conceived when SAARC at its 18th Summit in Kathmandu failed to sign a SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement in November 2014-chiefly because of Pakistan.
• Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal have signed a sub-regional Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) in June 2015 for regulation of passenger, personnel and cargo vehicular traffic between the four BBIN countries.
• Originally, the BBIN MVA mentioned 30 identified priority transport connectivity projects with an estimated cost of over US $8 billion that will rehabilitate and upgrade remaining sections of trade and transport corridors in the BBIN countries.
• India, Nepal and Bangladesh have ratified the Agreement while Bhutan failed to get its Parliament’s nod to ratify the same. It has some reservations about its environmental impact owing to increased traffic of heavy-duty vehicles.
• Under South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme, Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been providing technical, advisory, and financial support to this initiative.
• On November 1, 2015, a cargo vehicle made the first successful trial run from Kolkata to Agartala via Bangladesh that reduced the distance by over a thousand kilometres.

Significance

• Ineffective transit agreements, non-existent common guarantee mechanisms and insufficient transit harmonisation procedures place limits on regional trade flows. The BBIN MVA is a milestone in improved trade facilitation, promoting investment linkages among the member countries with a view to capitalising on potential bilateral and regional value chains.
• The BBIN initiative has the potential to significantly change the dynamics of the existing trade related activities paving the way for greater market access for production centres in the sub-region.

o If the transport corridors transformed into economic corridors, it can potentially increase intra-regional trade within South Asia by almost 60% and with the rest of the world 30%.

• Having a multi-modal transportation network in the BBIN sub-region would be quite useful for landlocked Nepal and Bhutan.
• This will help India develop its North-Eastern region, as the transportation cost for moving goods from other part of India to North-Eastern region through Bangladesh and vice-versa will be greatly reduced.

o Opening of Bangladeshi ports add to the possibilities of India transporting goods to north-eastern states though four different routes: Chittagong-Mongla-Agartala via Akhura; Chittagong-Mongla-Daouki via Tamabil; Chittagong-Mongla-Sutarkandi via Sheola; and Chittaong/Mongla-Bibekbazar via Simantapur.

Implementation Challenges

• Bhutan was unable to ratify the agreement as the concern in Bhutan is that the streamlining of the movement of passenger and cargo vehicles will result in increased traffic, tourists and pollution.
• Various travel restrictions at the border Land Customs Stations (LCSs), delays due to transshipment issues, poor and sometimes non-existent infrastructure at some LCSs, and other customs documentation and clearance-related problems are significantly adding up to the time and financial costs of conducting trade among these nations.
• Apart from infrastructural problems, the suspicion towards India as a big brother seeking dominance has been a perennial impediment for the regional integrity.
• The Agreement allows carrying return cargo to its home country as it will significantly reduce the cost of transportation. o However, local transport bodies, particularly those in Bangladesh and Nepal, are opposing this provision as they think that it will adversely affect their business.

Way forward

• Inland Container Depots (ICDs) are to be constructed at strategic locations to avoid loading and unloading at roadsides near the border posts and they should be designated as customs clearance points.
• Public and private sector investment should be encouraged to facilitate the modernisation of the transport sector for standardisation of vehicular dimensions including emission standards.
• Over time, the provisions of the BBIN MVA should be aligned with those of the TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention of the International Road Transport Union. That will further facilitate seamless cargo movement among these countries by reducing the number of physical checks and paper works.

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