Introduction
Competition among countries in northeast Asian
China
The acceleration of foreign investment in the Chinese market after China became a member of the WTO, the sharp growth of exports and imports, and the active investment of the Chinese government to make its ports match the rapid growth of the Chinese economy will had brought the result to China. In the case of the major Chinese port "Shanghai", China is building a new major port of Shanghai (Yangsan Port) on Yangsan Island at a huge cost (about US$600 million).
Japan
South Korea depended on the favorable geographical location of the port of Busan and the neglected development of the port and land transport network. Linking the TSR and TKR would provide trade routes to the regions.
The present situation of South Korea
Port capacity
In other words, you can say that Busan port is suffering from a lack of capacity.
Inland transport networks and Logistics Park
If this trend continues, this concentration will prevent normal port operation when TKR-TSR is activated. Well-organized domestic networks would be one of the decisive factors for the smooth functioning of the TKR-TSR.
The prospect of TSR (Trans-Siberian Railway)
TSR and TKR
- TSR (Trans-Siberian Railway)
- TKR (Trans-Korean Railway)
In order to connect these lines with the existing transcontinental railway and fully activate the TKR-TSR interconnection, three corridors (Gyeong-ui, Gyeong-won and Dong-hae lines) need to be renovated and restored as soon as possible. Fortunately, it seems that all countries, especially North Korea, are beginning to realize the potential economic effects of the TKR-TSR interconnection.
The present situation of the TSR
Throughput of railway transport quoted from 'Changes in container flows between South Korea and Europe', Korea Container Terminal Authority Throughput of railway transport (TSR) is data from Donghae Shipping. Although data is not available for China and Japan, it is generally understood that the rail transport market share (TSR) would reflect a similar picture. In other words, this rail transport is only used for cargo that needs to be transported to those regions where sea transport is not available.
In fact, the transport distance of the route through TSR is shorter than sea transport. The second is that its fare is lower than the fare of transportation on the TSR. When cargo arrives at ports in Russia, it must be transshipped to the TSR.
Therefore, the TSR does not currently threaten the existing sea transport because this rail transport has no competitive power against the sea transport. Furthermore, it does not appear that the railway transport is an alternative between Northeast Asia and Europe, because most trades are still dependent on the sea transport and this railway transport is only used for the loads that need to be transported to various specific regions where the marine transport is not available.
The prospect of the TSR: interconnection between the TKR and the
Lots of experts and institutes expect that the utilization coefficient of TSR will be dramatically increased when this railway is directly connected to TKR. In addition, the international trade between Northeast Asia and Europe would be accelerated according to competitive freight rates and transit time of TKR-TSR. The renovation and restoration of the TKR and the connection of the TKR with the TSR mean that Japan has direct transport routes to China, Russia, Mongolia, Korea and even Europe.
In addition, the scope of economic cooperation between North Korea and South Korea is expected to further expand with the TKR-TSR interconnection. However, the opening of TKR-TSR is expected to bring South Korea an opportunity to increase its market share in Europe. Without a doubt, this port is one of the most popular ports in the Northeast Asia region.
As a result of the decentralization of cargo flow, the competitive power of South Korea as a Logistics Hub country will ultimately be enhanced. Moreover, several neighboring countries, such as Russia, China and Japan, are trying to mediate between the two countries for the interconnection of the TKR and the TSR.
The economic impact of the TKR-TSR
The economic impact by northeast countries
- Russia
- China
- Japan
- Korean peninsula
This land has attracted several countries whose degree of dependence on natural resource imports is high, such as South Korea and Japan. However, TKR-TSR would be able to provide Russia with an opportunity to push into the US market, because through TKR-TSR, Russia can use hub ports in South Korea instead of spending time, effort and a large amount of money for the development of its ports. Cargoes which are mainly produced from the three regions in China are likely to flow to South Korean ports for export to Japan and America.
Several provinces facing the Baltic Sea and located near ports of South Korea fell behind other regions: Niigata, Tottori, Kanazawa and so on. Therefore, in terms of exporting to Europe, the shippers would have a competitive price thanks to the reduction of transportation costs and this would speed up trade between South Korea and European countries. The United States has been the largest export market to South Korea, although the rate of exports to the country tends to decline these days due to the expansion of trade with China.
In fact, South Korea has a high degree of dependence on exports to the United States, and this means that the South Korean economy can be under the control of the country's economy. The opening of the TKR is expected to ease strained relations between North and South Korea, as economic exchange between the two countries would accelerate and this would open North Korea to foreign investment.
Congestion issue in the port of Busan
This depot is directly connected to the port of Busan by 1 dedicated expressway and 2 expressways. Note: Classification and distances from Busan port as follows (1) Dedicated expressway (31 km from Busan port). At present, most cargoes concentrate at the port of Busan, regardless of their destinations.
In order to avoid the concentration of cargo in the port of Busan, the inflows and outflows of cargo should be fundamentally decentralized. Therefore, to avoid cargo concentration in Busan port and reduce unnecessary logistics costs, cargo flows should be decentralized to other ports and TKR. The Port of Busan has been one of the major global ports and has handled a lot of cargo.
The port of Busan would be the center of international trade between Northeast Asia and Europe or between the Eurasian continent and the Americas, when the TSR is connected to the TKR. Nam Ki-chan, 2004, A Plan for Activating Busan Port for the Development of Asia-Europe Rail Transport, Busan Development Institute, Busan;
Problems awaiting solutions and objects for activating
Feasible solutions to overcome the shortage of capacity of Busan port
- Busan Newport
- Yangsan ICD (Inland Container Depot)
- Decentralizing inflows and outflows of cargos
The construction of the port was decided to solve the problems of persistent cargo backlog in Busan Port to function as an international cargo transfer port, also as a gateway to the economic zone of the Northeast Asian region. In the 1990s, the ports of Busan and Busan city suffered from congestion due to an unexpected surge in cargo inflows and outflows. In other districts, cargo congestion at Busan Port has become increasingly worse, with Yangsan ICD handling more and more containers that cannot be handled at the port.
In case of import from China to South Korea or vice versa, the cargoes must come and go through TKR1 or Yellow Seaside ports (Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Gunsan etc.) via short sea shipping, not just through the port from Busan. Source: Nam Ki-chan, 2004, A Scheme for activating the port of Busan towards the development of Asia-Europe rail transport, Busan development institute, Busan. Although the Port of Busan is the most attractive port in South Korea for shippers, this trend has led to the concentration of cargoes at the port and an increase in unnecessary logistics costs due to the transportation costs from Busan to Seoul.
In addition, in other cases, if cargoes do not need to come and go through Busan port, other alternatives should be used. Due to a lack of investment, Pyeongtaek Port cannot take advantage of its geographical features.
Activating Inter-modal transport: building well-organized hinterland
- Development of hinterland networks: Enhancing accessibilities
- Building unconnected and superannuated sections of Gyeong-ui
- Double track and electric railways
Also, though connected by railways, even some of the places do not have entry railways. Furthermore, to activate the Eurasian land bridge (TKR-TSR), the hinterland network in South Korea should also be harmonized with other future hinterland networks somewhere in China, Russia and even Europe. Three missing lines are needed to be renovated or restored to build a complete Eurasian land bridge (TKR-TSR).
Especially, without connecting to the northern part of TKR3 or TSR, this line would bring economic development to the eastern coastal provinces. So far, it seems that the South Korean government has not fully understood the importance of the Eurasian land bridge. As a result, the facilities and level of service of the railways have fallen behind the roads.
To increase the speed and capacity of rail transport, the appropriate amount of investment should be allocated to the railways. When investment programs in transport infrastructure are formulated, the importance and urgency of developing railways should therefore be reflected.
Developing and encouraging port related value added industries
It cannot be convinced that it will not be repeated that Busan port previously occupied the position of Japanese ports between China and South Korea. It may not be easy for South Korea to compete against other rivals in the future without an extraordinary plan. To make the Eurasian land bridge complete, the TSR should be connected to the TKR, although there are many other problems.
This is not the only task that South Korea needs to do to revamp the TKR. In order to activate the full land bridge, South Korea must first renovate its own transport networks, especially railways. Also, South Korea must ensure the large enough processing capacity of its ports to avoid congestion due to cargoes likely to be increased by the TKR-TSR.
South Korea is still well positioned to become a logistics hub country in Northeast Asia, and the Eurasian land bridge would promote South Korea's efforts to become a hub country. However, if South Korea does not work for a positive attitude, the country would lose opportunities and concede the position of logistics hub country to its competitors.
Conclusion
