Co Chairmen's Report
COCHAIRMEN'S REPORT
SUMMARY OF THE FOURTH MEETING
OF THE ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION (APEC)
TRANSPORTATION WORKING GROUP
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
UNITED STATES
20-23 July 1993
1. The Fourth meeting of AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Working Group was convened in Seattle on July 2023, 1993. Delegations from Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States, and the APEC Secretariat participated. Private/business sector participation included representatives from PECC, the Boeing Corporation, Qantas Airways, Ltd., Federal Airports Corporation of Australia, United Parcel Service, Northwest Airlines, Federal Express, DallasFort Worth Airport, DMJM Corporation, the Port of Seattle, Louis Berger Int'l, American President Lines, Air Transport Action Group, Air Transport Association of America, the Discovery Institute and the EDI Council of Australia. In addition, a representative of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was in attendance. (A list of participants is provided at Annex I.)
ORGANIZATION Of BUSINESS
2 The meeting was chaired by Mr. Arnold Levine, Director, Office of International Transportation and Trade, U.S. Department of Transportation, and Mr. Paul Schlamm, Office of Aviation Programs and Policy, U.S. Department of State.
3 Preceding the regular meeting of the working group, a seminar on facilitation issues and electronic data interchange (EDI) was held. A summary of that meeting is to be prepared separately.
AGENDA
4 The draft agenda for the Fourth meeting was adopted and appears as Annex 2
REPORT ON APEC DEVELOPMENTS
5. Mr. Schlamm briefed delegates on developments in APEC Since the working group's last meeting, summarizing the results of two Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs) and Shepherds meeting held earlier in the year He noted that transport group's meeting schedule was not synchronized with the schedule established for the preparation and submission of the annual APEC budget and that the group should consider adjusting the cycle of its meetings so that funding requests could be filed with the APEC Secretariat in a timely manner. He also reported that Senior Officials had stressed the necessity for all working groups to develop practical, concrete projects which can be submitted for ministerial endorsement. Further, he noted that the SOM had levied two additional requirements on the working groups: production of a "vision statement" which would be presented to ministers in November; and a progress report on work projects to be submitted before each SOM.
REPORT OF THE APEC SECRETARIAT
6. Ms. Merry Wickes of the APEC Secretariat reported on developments since the Secretariat began operations in Singapore in January. She described the new guidelines for disbursements from APEC's central funds and APEC's publications policy. She also explained the services the Secretariat could provide to working groups, including assistance with communications and the distribution of documents between meetings. She also offered to prepare and circulate an updated list of principal working group contacts in each delegation.
STATUS OF WORK PROJECTS
7. SURVEY OF TRANSPORTATION BOTTLENECKS. Professor Yuzo Akatsuka reported on the status of the PECC TripleT Task Force survey designed to produce a data base on the characteristics of transport systems in a number of APEC economies. He said the threeyear project was in its final phase and should be completed by December.
8. Japan presented a completed analysis of passenger and cargo traffic at major ports and airports in the region, supplemented with projections of future capacity demands. The Japanese delegate noted that the report was intended to highlight broad trends and to identify potential stress points in the region's transport infrastructure. Delegates, in commenting on Japan's analysis noted that many factors can influence projections of traffic growth rates, and that any further analysis should take these complexities into account.
9. The working group also examined a draft terms of reference for an outside consultant (tabled by the U.S. delegation) who would use the PECC TripleT Task Force survey, Japan's report, and other related materials in providing further analysis of regional bottlenecks. The group decided that the initial draft was too broad and should be scaled back and more sharply focused. It was agreed that the draft terms of reference should be revised and circulated to members, and that a subgroup then be formed to work with and direct the consultant.
10. SURVEY OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AND SERVICES IN EACH APEC ECONOMY. The U.S. delegation reported that submissions for the survey had been received from 13 economies. These submissions had been put into a common format and returned to members for review. Each delegation will be provided with a copy of its submission by July 30, and was asked to resubmit its contribution by September 1, after which the completed survey would be circulated to member economies and then forwarded to the Secretariat for publication.
11. TRANSPORTATION DATA SURVEY. Canada reported that final amendments had been received from each member and incorporated into the final draft. The survey now is complete and will be forwarded to the Secretariat to be published as an APEC document.
NEW INITIATIVE ON TRANSPORT POLICY
12. The working group considered and endorsed a proposal by the delegation of Australia concerning the expansion of electronic data interchange (EDI) in the transport sector within APEC. Australia will develop a more detailed project description and provide coordination of initial data gathering and analysis. Any extension of the project to further phases, and any requests for funds from the APEC central fund, will be subject to further consideration and decision by the group. Representatives of the private/business sector expressed a strong interest in providing technical assistance in the development of this project.
BUDGET FOR WORK PROJECTS
13. The following decisions were made with respect to project funding requests for CY 1993 and CY 1994:
Bottleneck Study The $50,000 approved for CY 1993 would be rolled over into CY 1994, and a request for an additional $25,000 would be submitted to the Secretariat. Matching funds also would be sought from the Asian Development Bank.
Transport Systems Survey and Data Survey the $2,000 approved for publication of these surveys would be carried forward to CY 1994. In addition, Ms. Wickes agreed to obtain cost estimates for publishing 500, 1,000 and 2,000 copies of each survey so the group would be able to decide how many copies of each to order and what additional funding, if any, to request for these projects.
Original "Vision Statement" the $5,000 approved for this project for CY 1993 is to be returned to the APEC central fund.
New Transport EDI Initiative. The Australian delegation undertook to prepare a justification for a request for approximately $5,000 from APEC funds for the initial phase of this project.
VISION STATEMENT FOR NOVEMBER MINISTERIAL
14. All delegations accepted, on an ad referendum basis, the draft text of a working group vision statement which is to be submitted to the APEC ministerial in November. Members agreed to provide their clearances/comments by August 10. If no response is received by that date, clearance will be assumed. Soon after August 10, a final version of the document will be forwarded to the Secretariat
GUIDELINES FOR TRANSPORT POLICY
15. Following on decisions taken at the Tokyo working group meeting, the U.S. delegation tabled a draft text of proposed guidelines for transport policy. The purpose of this document is to try to move the working group, which has reached agreement on broad objectives and principles, toward adoption of a common set of specific guidelines for transportation policies and principles. It was the group's view that delegation reactions to the draft guidelines should come only after November ministers' meeting in November. Economies wishing to make comments on the U.S. draft were encouraged to circulate them prior to the working group's next meeting. The U.S. then would produce a revised draft which would be discussed at the next working group meeting.
PRIVATE SECTOR AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS
16. Jan Gessin, EDI Council of Australia, briefed the working group on the "BHP Project" involving Australia and New Zealand. The project has been a success in demonstrating how the application of EDI streamlines business processes and results in substantial savings. Attention is now being given to extending the project to other APEC economies.
17. John Meredith of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), following up on his Tokyo presentation, again briefed the working group and urged that APEC convene a meeting of transport ministers to agree on an action plan to deal with the enormous growth of air traffic in the AsiaPacific region. The working group agreed with Meredith's contention that airway congestion was a serious problem that needed attention. It was the group's view, however, that it would be premature to call for a ministerial meeting. The working group observed that the matter is primarily the concern of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is attempting to implement the Future Air Navigation System (FANS), which will address a number of the concerns raised by ATAG. The delegations agreed that the working group should stay in touch with ICAO and keep abreast of that organizations progress in implementing FANS.
18. David Rystrom, of the DallasFort Worth Airport Authority (DFW) discussed DFW's's rapid expansion to a position as the second busiest airport in the world. He described the economic incentives the airport authority was offering and the innovative measures, such as the establishment of a foreign trade zone, that have been used to improve the airport's economic performance. He highlighted the collateral growth produced in the region by the airport's expanded activities.
19. Pat Quinn of the Louis Berger Company discussed his firm's experience with private industry financing of transportation infrastructure. He described the "revolutionary" developments in a number of countries where private developers have built and are operating toll roads, noting several issues that have to be addressed if private capital is to be attracted to highway infrastructure.
20. David Turner updated the group on Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) programs in the region. He noted that the UNGA had extended the "Transportation and Communications Decade for Asia and the Pacific" until 1996, and called on UN agencies to develop joint action plans for the area. He described consolidated UN agency programs being implemented in the region which focused on multimodal transport and logistics, commercialization of telecommunications and transport operations, environmental and safety matters, and urban transport problems.
21. Ms. Wu of the Chinese Taipei Committee of PECC presented a survey of facilities and operations at 19 major airports in the AsiaPacific region. The results of the survey could be used to develop standards for future airport facility planning and development. The committee also presented a software package for computerized presentation of the survey. When this software is available, Chinese Taipei will inform member delegations.
PRESENTATIONS BY DELEGATIONS
UNITED STATES
22. A representative of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) discussed use of satellitebased navigation systems (FANS) to deal with the problem of airspace saturation, a topic raised in the ATAG presentation. It was noted that the U.S. was moving ahead with such a system, and that the AsiaPacific region also could benefit substantially from the introduction of this advanced technology.
23. A representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture presented information on that agency's container rate and export transportation technical assistance projects dealing with Pacific rim economies.
CHINESE TAIPEI
24. Chinese Taipei presented a review of a sixyear, multimodal, transportation development plan. The plan aims to make Chinese Taipei a regional transportation hub. It also envisions the establishment of a "transport corridor" involving Japan, Korea, China, and Chinese Taipei which, in effect, would function as a "super hub."
SINGAPORE
25. Singapore provided an update on its current infrastructure development projects at Changi airport: the upgrading of Terminal 1, the construction of two additional finger piers for Terminal 2, and the planning of Terminal 3. The delegation also reported on the Singapore Aviation Academy which provides advanced specialized training in the area of aviation management, air traffic services and emergency services.
AUSTRALIA
26. Recent developments and policy reforms in the aviation, road, rail and maritime industries were outlined by the Australian delegate. The group was advised that the aviation policy reforms contained in the 1992 policy statement "One Nation" had been substantially implemented. Road transport reform strategy was focussed on the creation of the National Road Transport Commission and for rail on the establishment of the National Rail Corporation. Reform of the Australian shipping industry would continue with a further threeyear program, a key element being further crew reductions. Also, the Australian Government had announced a review of the Part X of the Trade Practices Act which regulates Australia's international liner cargo shipping services.
NEW ZEALAND
27. New Zealand reported completion of its reform of the administration of the transport sector, implementing safety authorities to regulate the land, maritime, and civil aviation modes. The implementation of "service charters" are a key aspect of these authorities to measure performance. A land transport management document has been produced which proposes the implementation of a national traffic management output and a study is being undertaken looking at pricing of the land transport system to ensure that a true "user pays" pricing system for the development and use of transport systems is implemented. In addition, New Zealand is proposing to liberalize its coastal shipping policy to allow foreignflagged vessels to trade on the coast. Finally, New Zealand and Australia are implementing an EDIbased immigration preclearance system for air travelers between the two countries.
CANADA
28. Canada. Canada reported on recent legislative initiatives undertaken in that economy including the enactment of a new Marine Insurance Act. Progress reports were given on: the construction of a new parallel runway, international terminal building and control tower at Vancouver International Airport; the new container terminal currently in the final planning stages at the Port of Vancouver; and on a major highway spending program. It was noted that both of Canada's national railway companies now provide double stack container service from the west coast to points in central and eastern Canada as well as to many U.S. destinations.