Trade and Commercial Law Assessment - Honduras - Economic ...

TRADE AND COMMERCIAL LAW ASSESSMENT DECEMBER 2004
HONDURAS
is important
to note that the region has yet to come to terms with a harmonized plan for
recovering
international termination costs for calls between Central American countries.
Curren tly, the providers initiating the calls retain all revenues. This practice creates inequities in
recovering
costs depending on the ratio of outgoing to incoming calls between the Central
American
countries. It is highly recommended that support be provided for identifying and
evaluating
solutions for harmonizing the international telecommunications industry.
g.
To facilitate trade, Honduras should consider the following recommendation for its
telecommunications
infrastructure:
♦
Trade Facilitation Issues to Address
Continue efforts to privatize Hondutel. The government-run telecommunications provider
is one of the nation’s major sources of revenue and is a highly profitable organization.
However, interviews indicate that the high profitability of the company has come at the
expense of investment in the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Consequently,
the profit margins are somewhat misleading. Efforts should be made to fully understand
the financials of the company, identify investment requirements, and consider
privatization of segments of the company to increase the service levels of the sector. As a
government entity, Hondutel lacks the ability to operate as a private company, limiting
its
ability to provide high-quality, cost-competitive services. As indicated above, efforts are
under way to expand the network through private sector participation. These efforts
should be supported and expanded following expiration of Hondutel’s exclusivity
provisions.
3. Supporting Institutions
a. Trucking Companies
Private trucking companies operate throughout the country, with significant capacity provided at
seaport and inland distribution terminals. Trucking companies provide drayage and inland
distribution services for all international trade. The quantity and quality of the trucking
companies available within Honduras are considered adequate and sufficiently scalable to
facilitate trade.
b. Airlines
Honduras’s airport infrastructure is served by almost all of the major airlines currently providing
services to the region. Major carriers also provide air cargo service. Air service is considered
adequate and sufficiently scalable to facilitate trade; however, terminal capacity constraints exist
at Tegucigalpa, and government
services are provided inconsistently to meet peak demands.
c. Ocean Carriers
Honduras serves a significant number of international ocean carriers, which call at regular
intervals. Services include containerized cargo, break bulk, neo-bulk, and liquid bulk cargoes.
Private sector stevedoring companies provide vessel stevedoring. Private sector transportation
companies provide landside transportation. The supporting institutions participating in the
maritime activities of Honduras are sufficient.
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