Transport Corridors: Challenges and Constraints for Economic Development

Abstract

Transport is a key element in the development of any society. Transport infrastructure is fundamental for the mobility of the persons and goods and for the territorial cohesion of the European Union. Advances in transport technology have extended the range of markets, enabled new methods of production, fostered specialization and strengthened social, political and economic ties between countries and major geographic areas. The demand for transport of people and goods is rising from day to day, and the consequences are refl ected in an overburdening of parts of the transport network and an imbalance in the overall transport infrastructure. The transport services sector in the European Union delivers benefi ts in its own right: the sector accounts for an estimated 4 % of the Union’s gross national product and employs approximately 6.3 million people employed in the transport equipment industry, and over 6 million in transport related industries. Each day, the transport industries and services of the European Union have to get more than 150 million people to and from work, enable at least 100 million trips made in the course of the work, carry 50 million tones of goods, deal with 15 million courier, express and parcel shipments apart from serving the needs of travel and trade outside the boundaries of the European Union. In view of the growth in traffi c between Member States, expected to double by 2020, the investment required to complete and modernise a true trans-European network in the enlarged EU amounts to some € 500 billion from 2007 to 2020, out of which € 270 billion for the priority axis and projects. Given the scale of the investment required, it is necessary to prioritise projects, in close collaboration with national governments, and to ensure effective European coordination.