Ankara Centre for Crisis and Political Studies (ANKASAM) presents the views of Dr. Madina Junussova, Urban Development Leader at the Institute for Development (GSD) and Senior Researcher at the Institute of Public Policy and Management (IPPA) at the University of Central Asia (UCA), on sustainable infrastructure policies in Central Asia.
1.Could you give some information about sustainable infrastructure in Central Asia?
The Sustainable Infrastructure Programme in Asia (SIPA) is a global project led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and implemented with six other partners, including the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), International Transport Forum (ITF), Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and UCA. SIPA is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) funded by the German government. The project aims to promote public and private sector investments in sustainable infrastructure in selected Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan) and Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand).
UCA is responsible for capacity building in Central Asia and facilitation of the Regional Knowledge Network. We have created an online platform to disseminate research findings and lessons learnt from SIPA partners’ project activities (www.sipa-centralasia.org). It hosted two summer schools in 2022 and 2023 for policy makers and national institutions from Central Asian countries.
The first 2022 SIPA Summer School, convened jointly by the OECD and UCA’s Institute for Public Policy and Administration (IPPA), brought together representatives of ministries, national agencies, and research institutes responsible for national development and planning in the areas of economy and finance, infrastructure, energy, transportation and environment from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The second 2023 SIPA Summer School brought together a group of selected policymakers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. During the summer schools, SIPA implementation partners and other international experts on sustainable infrastructure shared national and regional studies, policy frameworks and methodological tools, policy experience and disseminated good practices and knowledge in tackling challenges regarding sustainable infrastructure planning and financing. The Summer School delegates participated in brainstorming, knowledge-sharing discussions, and expert-guided group work to identify remaining gaps and good practices to align infrastructure investments with low-emission, resilient development pathways.
2. What innovative methods are being applied in sustainable infrastructure projects in Central Asia, and what are your thoughts on the success of these methods?
There are many innovative approaches that we suggest applying to national-level decision-makers and policymakers to better align strategic infrastructure planning practices with long-term low-carbon, resilient and inclusive development pathways. Our capacity-building exercises aim to contribute to more strategic, informed, and sustainable policy decision-making and infrastructure investment by ensuring that environmental and social considerations are central to the investment project evaluation process.
For example, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) offers a comprehensive framework for integrating environmental and social considerations into policy, plan, and program development. It helps policymakers foresee environmental challenges and incorporate sustainable solutions early in decision-making, improving infrastructure projects’ overall strategic direction and sustainability. Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) assists in assessing the actual value of infrastructure projects by quantifying social, environmental, economic, and financial impacts. This approach allows for a more nuanced understanding of the benefits and costs associated with infrastructure investments, leading to better-informed policy decisions and directing capital towards more sustainable, value-for-money projects. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) should be employed to evaluate infrastructure projects’ net economic, social, and environmental benefits. By comparing the costs of investment against the expected benefits, CBA aids policymakers in identifying the most efficient and impactful investments, ensuring the allocation of public funds toward the projects that offer the greatest return for sustainable development.
The success of these approaches depends on the national representatives’ further actions and their ability to implement them in practice. There is a need to adopt institutional conditions and investment in human capacities to embed these innovative practices in the current policy-making, planning, financing, and implementation of large infrastructure projects. The governments of CA cannot do it alone. Therefore, we are working on building and developing a Regional Knowledge Network on Sustainable Infrastructure to engage other vital co-implementing actors such as think tanks, academia, and the business community.
3. How do you think infrastructure collaborations between Central Asian countries contribute to the region’s development?
Regional collaboration between CA countries for planning and developing sustainable infrastructure is vital for benefiting from international and regional trade, increasing energy safety, and better water management. Due to the common soviet past, CA’s economic integration was largely oriented towards Russia. However, the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia are changing global and regional transport and trade, forcing CA to do more to improve regional cooperation and regional connectivity. Initiatives like the CAREC, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the European Union’s TRACECA, and the New Silk Road (NSR) of the United States create new opportunities for planning and building sustainable regional transport infrastructure for further integration of CA with global trade networks.
The ITF report published in 2019 on “Enhancing Connectivity and Freight in Central Asia” emphasized the importance of international and regional cooperation to boost connectivity, mitigate the challenges of being landlocked, and capitalize on economic opportunities.
Our study of the decarbonisation of transport in CA also highlights the importance of joint regional strategic actions to develop sustainable infrastructure. CA governments can significantly enhance the progress toward achieving net-zero emissions by collaboratively developing regional strategies. Initial efforts could focus on making CA trade corridors sustainable through decarbonisation measures that promote green trade and border crossings, prioritising the development of multimodal transport systems to enhance connectivity and support sustainable global trade participation. The decarbonisation of transport is tightly dependent on the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
Currently, we are working on a study assessing the decarbonisation of the energy sector in CA. Enhancing regional energy connectivity through cooperation is critical for achieving sustainable and resilient national energy systems and improving energy security in CA. An integrated and interconnected energy system encompassing electricity and gas grids can create a more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy supply and allow deep decarbonisation and more effective integration of scaled renewable energy capacity into the energy system. To create such a system, the CA government should work together and accumulate and direct regional funding towards energy infrastructure projects across the region.
4. Which sustainable infrastructure initiatives in Central Asia appear most promising for future generations?
Effective public and private investment in sustainable infrastructure is essential to achieving the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of Central Asian countries and starting actual actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are working on increasing policymakers’ and decision-makers capacities to develop and implement low-carbon strategies to improve CA residents’ overall sustainability, resilience, and quality of life. For example, sustainable investment projects could enhance people’s access to clean and reliable electricity and heating systems, reach better regional connectivity, support mobility, and integrate CA countries into global markets. Therefore, SIPA focuses on critical infrastructure like transport and energy that, on the one hand, could facilitate sustainable economic growth and social well-being, on the other, bear the risk of carbon lock-in if planning fails to incorporate sustainability and low-carbon targets.
SIPA is engaged in supporting several sustainable infrastructure initiatives in CA countries. IISD carried out our two projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The project focuses on sustainable buildings in Kazakhstan and encompasses two critical assessments within the transport and trade sectors. The first assessment compares road investments versus rail, aiming to enhance trade efficiency, increase energy efficiency, reduce congestion and emissions, and create employment. The second assessment evaluates the creation of a new trade hub by comparing investments in conventional versus green buildings. By implementing Green Buildings and Sustainable Transport projects, this initiative seeks to capitalize on environmental and societal benefits, such as avoided emissions and health costs, and economic benefits, including employment creation and productivity benefits.
The simultaneous implementation of these projects is expected to create synergies, potentially leading to trade efficiencies and energy efficiency in implementation and employment creation. In Uzbekistan, the reconstruction of the highway from Uchkuduk to the Kazakhstan border is set to provide an efficient, safe, and sustainable road network. This project aims to increase road capacity, reduce vehicle operating costs, decrease travel time, and enhance trade. The SAVi assessment of this project will illuminate the environmental, social, and economic costs and benefits, including the implications of transport investments for public finances under various climate change scenarios and comparing the project’s performance with other transport modes like the railway.
The ITF’s national studies on sustainable urban mobility in Tashkent and Ulaanbaatar present comprehensive initiatives to transform urban transport systems for future generations. The studies include the analysis of the urban transport context, quantitative assessment of decarbonising pathways, dissemination of best practices on sustainable urban mobility, and development of urban mobility improvement plans. The urban mobility improvement plans encompass various aspects such as governance, procurement, integrated land-use and transport planning, financing mechanisms, enhancement of the public transport network and fleet, taxi and on-demand services, light and shared mobility, parking reform, digital solutions, supporting policies, and a solid decarbonisation agenda.
Our initiatives on creating and developing Regional Knowledge Networks in CA are significant for future generations as the success of just transition towards decarbonisation depends on the quality of human capacities. The existing knowledge and capacity gaps in CA call for research and learning to focus on climate change and decarbonisation of transport by engaging the academic community. CA universities can help build the human capacities demanded in sustainable transport, energy, and industry because academia is at the forefront of knowledge generation, and students are the future employees.
In 2023, during the Energy Forum in Almaty, UCA took part in the brainstorming and establishing the regional knowledge network, bringing together the Kazakh-British Technical University, the Kazakh-German University, the Tajik State University of Finance and Economics, Turino Polytechnic University in Tashkent, Pisa University in Tashkent, Yessenov University, Ualikhanov University and Satbayev University. The network has international knowledge partners such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The network of CA universities, converging on the multifaceted themes of low- and zero-carbon technologies, mineral extraction, and energy efficiency, aims at strategically advancing and securing a net-zero future by 2050.
