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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

NIGER Niger exports largely to its most important neighbor, Nigeria, and to France. Trade has suffered significantly from the civil crises of its transit neighbors as well as internal political conflict. The crisis in Togo in the early 1990s, for example, had serious effects as much Nigerien transit trade had to be diverted through other, less convenient, ports. Similarly, recent crises in Nigeria led to the closure of the Lagos port and subsequent price increases in Niger. Even the ongoing conflict in Côte d’Ivoire is expected to have effects on the Nigerien economy, as transport bottlenecks are expected to reduce the supply of intermediate inputs (EIU 2002). In addition to these regional crises, continuing domestic turmoil since independence has plagued Niger. The last decade has been no exception with the continuing violence by the Tuareg rebels, several attempted political coups (two in the last three years), and the assassination of President Maïnassara in 1999. Niger is fortunate to have several access corridors to the sea via Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Ghana. Only two of these corridors (Nigeria and Benin) provide direct access to the sea, with the others requiring passage through a third country. It is these two direct corridors that serve as the primary transit routes for Nigerien trade – the Benin corridor (to Cotonou) accounts for 65%, while the Nigerian route (to Lagos) accounts for an additional 16%. Efforts are also being made to liberalize the transport sector, whose monopolistic nature has been traditionally responsible for escalated costs, although implementation has thus far been 26 slow. Despite these efforts, the road transport union (Synidcat des Transporteurs Routiers du Niger, STRN) has implemented a system to “allocate domestic passenger traffic and international freight from Benin and Togo” that establishes tariffs at a rate two-thirds above those set by Beninese truckers (Evlo 1995). BASIC INFORMATION HDI Rank: 172 GDP per capita 2000 (PPP$): $746 Exports per capita 2000 (current USD): $26 Distance to port: 1,057km Transport cost ratio (1995): 0.28 Neighbors: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, Nigeria Primary transit neighbors: Benin, Nigeria Main trading partners: Imports: France (19%) Côte d’Ivoire (15%) Exports: Nigeria (37%) France (36%) Primary Exports: Uranium (35%) Livestock (17%) Domestic Roads: fair Transit Country Roads: fair Domestic Rails: Transit Country Rails: none poor Transit Country Ports: fair Neighboring Civil Conflict: high Relations w/ Neighbors: good 26 The Organisation commune Benin-Niger (OCBN), a joint parastatal railway company, had a monopoly of transit from Cotonou to Parakou, and a monopoly to organize transshipment and onward transit to Niamey; and the national road transport company, Societe Nationale des Transports du Niger (SNTN) held a monopoly on mining freight. - 65 -
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE Road Niger’s primary international road corridors and domestic road network are both in relatively good condition. The principal challenges facing the Nigerien road system are police harassment, cumbersome border delays, poorly maintained vehicles, frequent accidents, and a lack of competition amongst transport services. The national road transport company (SNTN), for example, did not purchase any new vehicles between 1983 and 1995. Such poor upkeep contributes to a large annual number of road accidents. Moreover, shortly after the Cotonou (Benin) – Niamey (Niger) road was freshly paved and upgraded it remained virtually unused for transport as the governments of Benin and Niger, having a monopoly on the rail route from Cotonou (Benin) – Parakou (Benin), refused to authorize its use. Rail Although there is currently no domestic rail system in Niger, the Beninese railway to Parakou plays a major role in Niger’s transit trade, accounting for approximately 65% of the total (Evlo 1995). The railway suffers from similar problems to the other rail networks of the region: old, poorly maintained rolling stock and infrastructure, and inadequate transshipment facilities. Furthermore, the current stock is often insufficient to handle the high volume of trade during the peak cotton harvest season. The construction of a railway from Parakou (Benin) to Niamey (Niger), which would allow direct rail access to the sea, has also been proposed. Ports The Cotonou port, the most important one serving Niger, is considered to be less well equipped and less efficient than some of its Western African counterparts (i.e. Abidjan or Lomé). Niger also uses the port of Lagos, which has recently suffered from extreme congestion as a consequence of the implementation of 100% inspection of imported cargoes. The congestion is estimated to have led to a 35% increase in the prices of certain manufactured goods (OTAL 2002). The Lagos port is also subject to political risks, having been temporarily closed in 1999 due to surrounding violence. In contrast, the third major port for Nigerien transit trade, Lomé, is scheduled to become a hub for central and western Africa with the new construction of a US$100m container handling facility. The facility will provide loading and unloading for large container ships, reducing shipping times significantly (OTAL 2002). POLITICAL RELATIONS Niger continues to maintain a good relations with its neighbors. Economic and trade relations remain particularly strong with Nigeria, Niger’s most important export market. Relations with Libya also remain strong, abetted by President Khadafi’s commitment of Libyan aid to several development projects in Niger (CountryWatch 2002). Niger also signed an agreement with Sudan in 1998 to increase cooperation and facilitate trade amongst the two countries. Fortunately, the one source of ongoing confrontation, a border dispute with Benin over the island of Lété, appears to be nearing its conclusion with both sides agreeing to hand it over to - 66 -
Page 1 and 2:
THE CHALLENGES FACING LANDLOCKED DE
Page 3 and 4:
to link to global markets. In doing
Page 5 and 6:
TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Page 7 and 8:
PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Page 9 and 10:
First, landlocked countries are dep
Page 11 and 12:
together a wide variety of sources,
Page 13 and 14:
infrastructure. In these cases the
Page 15 and 16:
1.2.3. VULNERABILITY TO CIVIL CONFL
Page 17 and 18:
the Central African Republic - Came
Page 19 and 20: 1.3 INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT 1.3.1
Page 21 and 22: • The southern African landlocked
Page 23 and 24: PART 2: COUNTRY CASE STUDIES - 18 -
Page 25 and 26: Internal transport networks in the
Page 27 and 28: Ports Although Botswana’s geograp
Page 29 and 30: POLITICAL RELATIONS Lesotho’s int
Page 31 and 32: elatively better quality than most
Page 33 and 34: SWAZILAND Despite being landlocked,
Page 35 and 36: ZAMBIA While Zambia shares its bord
Page 37 and 38: Relations with South Africa have be
Page 39 and 40: Zimbabwe’s extensive rail network
Page 41 and 42: TRANSIT ROUTES OF ETHIOPIA The land
Page 43 and 44: UGANDA Uganda’s location allows i
Page 45 and 46: POLITICAL RELATIONS The formation o
Page 47 and 48: section on Uganda. The Central Corr
Page 49 and 50: BURUNDI In addition to lying over 1
Page 51 and 52: In 1996, after Major Pierre Buyoya
Page 53 and 54: Recognizing the dramatic effects th
Page 55 and 56: AFRICA - WESTERN TRANSIT ROUTES OF
Page 57 and 58: of transit. In fact, the landlocked
Page 59 and 60: only hindering normal road traffic
Page 61 and 62: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC With only
Page 63 and 64: Relations with the eastern neighbor
Page 65 and 66: TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE Road While
Page 67 and 68: MALI Upon declaring independence in
Page 69: Finally, and most importantly for M
Page 73 and 74: ASIA - CENTRAL TRANSIT ROUTES OF CE
Page 75 and 76: TRANSIT ROUTES OF MONGOLIA As part
Page 77 and 78: AFGHANISTAN Two decades of war, har
Page 79 and 80: Afghanistan, the first by an Irania
Page 81 and 82: Iran, Pakistan and Turkey constrain
Page 83 and 84: KYRGYZSTAN Over 3600 km from the ne
Page 85 and 86: POLITICAL RELATIONS Generally recog
Page 87 and 88: The country’s two major highways,
Page 89 and 90: TURKMENISTAN With direct access to
Page 91 and 92: Ports and Waterways Turkmenistan ha
Page 93 and 94: Domestic transport is hampered by t
Page 95 and 96: MOLDOVA Although the former Soviet
Page 97 and 98: MONGOLIA As the landlocked country
Page 99 and 100: CAUCASUS TRANSIT ROUTES OF THE CAUC
Page 101 and 102: ARMENIA While Armenia’s central g
Page 103 and 104: With the closure of the Turkish and
Page 105 and 106: worse (World Bank 2000). In fact, w
Page 107 and 108: ASIA - SOUTH & SOUTH-EAST TRANSIT R
Page 109 and 110: With the exception of western Afric
Page 111 and 112: and exports pass through the port p
Page 113 and 114: Khai (at the Thai-Laos border) to t
Page 115 and 116: NEPAL Due to the Himalayan range to
Page 117 and 118: More recently, India delayed the au
Page 119 and 120: links to the railways of Argentina,
Page 121 and 122:
developing the nation’s road infr
Page 123 and 124:
PARAGUAY Dependent primarily on tra
Page 125 and 126:
BOPS Break Bulk CAN CAR CEEAC/ECCAS
Page 127 and 128:
GENERAL ADB (2002). Annual Report 2
Page 129 and 130:
United Nations General Assembly (20
Page 131 and 132:
BOTSWANA CountryWatch (2003). Botsw
Page 133 and 134:
EIU (2002). Malawi Country Profile
Page 135 and 136:
ZAMBIA Chikoti, V. (?). Overview of
Page 137 and 138:
AFRICA - CENTRAL AND EASTERN BURUND
Page 139 and 140:
EIU (2002). Ethiopia Country Report
Page 141 and 142:
Mutumba-Lule, A. (2001). 17 Firms V
Page 143 and 144:
- 138 -
Page 145 and 146:
Jean-Bertin, O. (2002). Burkina Fas
Page 147 and 148:
Evlo, K. (1995). Transit Transport
Page 149 and 150:
ASIA - CENTRAL United Nations (1994
Page 151 and 152:
UNESCAP (2002). Afghanistan: Status
Page 153 and 154:
EIU (2001). Railways in Kyrgyz Repu
Page 155 and 156:
Spiegel Online (2002). Moldawien, S
Page 157 and 158:
USDA FSA (2002). Tajikistan Shippin
Page 159 and 160:
CAUCASUS ARMENIA Armenia Foreign Mi
Page 161 and 162:
World Bank (2000). Project Appraisa
Page 163 and 164:
World Audit (2001). World Democracy
Page 165 and 166:
MONGOLIA Canning, D. (1998). A Data
Page 167 and 168:
WDI (2002). World Development Indic
Page 169 and 170:
UN DHA (1997). Paraguay El Niño Fl
Page 171 and 172:
Map 1
Page 173 and 174:
Table 2: Human Development - Rankin
Page 175 and 176:
Table 4: Exports per Capita (2000 c
Page 177 and 178:
Figure 1: Human Development Indicat
show all

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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?