Supporting Economic Corridor Development in Armenia and Georgia to Enhance Trade and Competitiveness
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Technical Assistance Report Project Number: 54232-001 Knowledge and Support Technical Assistance (KSTA) October 2020 Supporting Economic Corridor Development in Armenia and Georgia to Enhance Trade and Competitiveness This document is being disclosed to the public in accordance with ADB’s Access to Information Policy. ABBREVIATIONS ADB – Asian Development Bank CAREC – Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation CWRC – Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division of the Central and West Asia Department ECD – economic corridor development RCI – regional cooperation and integration TA – technical assistance NOTE In this report, "$" refers to United States dollars. Vice-President Shixin Chen, Operations 1 Director General Werner Liepach, Central and West Asia Department (CWRD) Director Safdar Parvez, Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division (CWRC), CWRD Team leader Guntur Sugiyarto, Principal Economist, CWRC, CWRD Team members Kamel Bouhmad, Portfolio Management Specialist, Georgia Resident Mission, CWRD Grigor Gyurjyan, Senior Economics Officer, Armenia Resident Mission, CWRD Thomas Herz, Senior Transport Specialist, Transport and Communications Division, CWRD Xinglan Hu, Principal Regional Cooperation Specialist, CWRC, CWRD George Luarsabishvili, Economics Officer, Georgia Resident Mission, CWRD Ari A. Perdana, Evaluation Specialist, Thematic and Country Division, Independent Evaluation Department Kristian Rosbach, Economist (Regional Cooperation), CWRC, CWRD Maria Cecilia Sison, Operations Assistant, CWRC, CWRD Duc Tran, Young Professional, CWRC, CWRD In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. CONTENTS Page KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AT A GLANCE I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. ISSUES 1 III. THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 3 A. Impact and Outcome 3 B. Outputs, Methods, and Activities 3 C. Cost and Financing 4 D. Implementation Arrangements 4 IV. THE PRESIDENT'S DECISION 5 APPENDIXES 1. Design and Monitoring Framework 6 2. Cost Estimates and Financing Plan 8 3. List of Linked Documents 9 Project Classification Information Status: Complete KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AT A GLANCE 1. Basic Data Project Number: 54232-001 Project Name Supporting Economic Corridor Department/Division CWRD/CWRC Development in Armenia and Georgia to Enhance Trade and Competitiveness Nature of Activity Policy Advice Executing Agency Asian Development Bank Modality Regular Country REG (ARM, GEO) 2. Sector Subsector(s) ADB Financing ($ million) Industry and trade Industry and trade sector development 0.70 Total 0.70 qq 3. Operational Priorities Climate Change Information Accelerating progress in gender equality GHG Reductions (tons per annum) 0 Climate Change impact on the Project Low Strengthening governance and institutional capacity Fostering regional cooperation and integration ADB Financing Adaptation ($ million) 0.00 Mitigation ($ million) 0.00 Cofinancing Adaptation ($ million) 0.00 Mitigation ($ million) 0.00 Sustainable Development Goals Gender Equity and Mainstreaming SDG 1.b Some gender elements (SGE) SDG 5.b SDG 8.1 Poverty Targeting General Intervention on Poverty 4. Risk Categorization Low Qq 5. Safeguard Categorization Safeguard Policy Statement does not apply qq 6. Financing Modality and Sources Amount ($ million) ADB 0.70 Knowledge and Support technical assistance: Regional Cooperation and 0.70 Integration Fund Cofinancing 0.00 None 0.00 Counterpart 0.00 None 0.00 Total 0.70 Currency of ADB Financing: US Dollar q Source: Asian Development Bank This document must only be generated in eOps. 17112020140857172541 Generated Date: 17-Nov-2020 14:09:07 PM I. INTRODUCTION 1. The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) will facilitate the development of a comprehensive scoping study and a framework to support economic corridor development (ECD) in Armenia and Georgia to enhance trade and competitiveness in the two countries and make their economies more diversified, inclusive, and resilient. Empirical evidence from other countries suggests that economic corridor development in Armenia and Georgia (ECD–AG) can boost trade and strengthen regional cooperation and integration (RCI) among Armenia, Georgia, and their neighboring countries for higher and more resilient growth. 1 ECD–AG can be developed by maximizing the potential of existing road corridors, including the East–West Highway2 in Georgia, the North–South Corridor in Armenia,3 and the Armenia–Georgia Border Regional Road,4 which are partly financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Accordingly, the TA will enhance the economic benefits of these physical infrastructures by transforming them into economic corridors.5 II. ISSUES 2. The expansion of ECD caused by rapid increases in global production networks and value chains will boost investment, production, and trade. ECD has the key features of spatial economic development—economies of scale, agglomeration, diversification, and specialization through infrastructure, and industrial and urban developments. In addition to requiring quality hard and soft infrastructures and trade facilitation, ECD also needs a strong political commitment and the right policy incentives. 3. ADB has supported ECD in many parts of Asia, such as the Greater Mekong Subregion, and in Central and West Asia, such as the Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor,6 the Pakistan Economic Corridors Programme,7 and ECD among Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.8 Georgia is a member of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program— which supports the development of road corridors and facilitates regional trade and transport— while Armenia is a strategic partner in ECD. The proposed TA builds on the ADB-supported projects related to ECD by targeting the West Caucasus region involving Armenia and Georgia, making ADB’s coverage of ECD work more comprehensive. 4. The TA will contribute to ADB’s key knowledge products to support its operations in Armenia and Georgia as described in ADB’s country partnership strategy for Armenia, 2019– 20239 (which aims to ensure diversified growth and more inclusiveness); and in ADB’s country 1 Asian Development Bank (ADB). 2016. Scaling New Heights: Vizag–Chennai Industrial Corridor, India’s First Coastal Corridor. Manila. 2 The World Bank has been financing the development of the East–West Highway in Georgia, and ADB has been financing efficiency and safety improvements on this highway. 3 ADB. 2009. North–South Road Corridor Investment Program. 4 ADB. 2016. Armenia-Georgia Border Regional Road (M6 Vanadzor-Bagratashen) Improvement Project. See also the ECD framework developed for Pakistan by ADB and the Department for International Development. https://www.adb.org/projects/documents/pak-49452-001-tcr 5 The TA first appeared in the business opportunities section of ADB’s website on 23 September 2020. 6 Almaty–Bishkek Economic Corridor. 7 Pakistan Economic Corridors Programme. 8 ADB. 2018. Technical Assistance for Assessing Economic Corridor Development Potential among Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Manila. 9 ADB. 2019. Country Partnership Strategy: Armenia, 2019–2023—Fostering Inclusive, Diversified, and Transformative Growth. Manila. 2 partnership strategy for Georgia, 2019–202310 (which aims to expand trade and create jobs through ECD). The TA is also included in ADB’s country operations business plan for Armenia, 2019–2021.11 5. The TA’s implementation will build upon completed and ongoing work under a number of ADB’s TA projects in Armenia and the region such as: Analysis of Economic Opportunities Associated with Armenia’s New Trade Regime, which examines the impact of the new trade regime on trade patterns; 12 Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy, which supports the preparation and initial implementation of Armenia’s Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy 2020–2040; 13 Export- and Innovation-Led Industrial Development 14 and Partnership with the Private Sector for Sustainable Trade Facilitation Results in the CAREC Program,15 both of which aim to improve industrial development and strengthen partnerships between the private and public sectors. The Armenia’s Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy also supports regional integration of road networks and trade facilitation. The TA aligns well with ADB’s Strategy 203016 (i.e. operational priority 1 on addressing remaining poverty and reducing inequalities, and operational priority 7 on fostering RCI), and the Operational Plan for RCI, 2016–2020.17 6. Armenia and Georgia are part of the Western Caucasus region located at the meeting point of the large economies of Turkey, Iran, and the Russian Federation. The region is also situated along the so-called new Silk Road that connects the People’s Republic of China and other parts of Asia with Europe, making RCI in the Western Caucasus essential to further regional and global connectivity across Asian and European regions. 7. Armenia is a landlocked country with a population of 2.9 million. Two of its four borders are closed and one of its neighbors has been subjected to sanctions and geopolitical tensions.18 More than one-quarter of the population lives below the national poverty line. Armenia became an upper middle-income country in 2018, but its narrow economic base makes its growth vulnerable to market swings.