the challenges facing landlocked developing countries: a case study ...

TRANSIT ROUTES OF ETHIOPIA
The landlocked countries of eastern Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi are intimately
linked by the region’s “umbilical cord,” the Northern transit corridor from Kenya through
Uganda and Rwanda to Burundi that serves as a primary transit route for all three countries.
The Central corridor to the port of Dar es Salaam provides an alternate route to the Indian
Ocean. The exclusive dependence on these corridors, and primarily the Northern, by Uganda,
Rwanda, and Burundi makes this region particularly interesting in the study of landlocked
countries. Although a central message of this report is that distance to port is just one
component of landlockedness, in this region distance inland is a useful summary measure
since infrastructural and political challenges faced en route are cumulative in that those faced
by Uganda or Rwanda will most likely be faced by Burundi as well.
The recent civil wars and regional tensions have highlighted the interconnectedness of these
countries and have severely weakened their transit systems. Rwanda’s recent brutal civil war,
for example, rendered the country’s infrastructure virtually impassable not only for Rwandan
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