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

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overcome this problem, the government has launched a major highway construction project to link the capital Ashgabat with the Caspian Sea and Dashoguz in the north of the country (EIU 2002). As discussed above Turkmenistan’s road transit challenges are exacerbated by its neighbors’ low infrastructure levels. Weak infrastructure has so far limited development of the Iranian corridor, and severely limited the efficiency on transit through Azerbaijan and Georgia. Rail Turkmenistan inherited its limited and insufficient railroad system from the Soviet Union. With less than 2,500 km of poorly maintained railway track and a minimal supply of rolling stock and spare parts, the country faces serious constraints in this sector. Moreover, the break-up of the Soviet rail network in 1991 has left Turkmenistan with a fragmented network. There are no main rail lines connecting the east or northwest with the rest of the country. To deal with these issues the government is constructing new rail lines to improve domestic transport. The government has also actively promoted new rail corridors to link with surrounding rail systems. In 1996, Turkmenistan opened its first connection to Iran. See the rail section in the Uzbekistan chapter for a description of the major corridors and indicative pricing. Pipelines Turkmenistan’s key problem in exporting its gas is its reliance on Russian and former Soviet gas pipelines. To access world markets, gas must either pass through pipeline routes through Russia, Iran or the Caucasus, each of which is constrained. The route via Russia is limited because Russia will not pay its debt accumulated in purchasing Turkmen gas. Hence, Turkmenistan has found it necessary to suspend the gas flow four times since 1991. 29 In addition, Russia’s gas distributor, Gazprom, refuses to allow Turkmen gas to transit to Europe, limiting Turkmenistan’s prospects for exporting gas outside the CIS. While a pipeline to Iran exists and is used for export, these shipments have consistently fallen below the target and hence only account for a small share of total gas exports. The pipeline has had various problems, culminating in March 2002 when exports via this pipeline temporarily ground to a halt (Lelyveld 2002). Since independence, the government has been pursuing the construction of a pipeline through Afghanistan to Pakistan, which would give it access to deep-sea ports and possibly the Indian market. A construction agreement was signed in December 2002. However, it remains unclear whether the project will be able to attract the necessary investments. Key concerns include political volatility in Afghanistan and the low throughput of the planned pipeline, which may make the project economically unsustainable. Similarly, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan have signed a $9 billion contract with China to develop a pipeline to ship oil and natural gas to China (Nazar et al 1999). 29 Total arrears in gas bills accumulated by Russia and Ukraine are equivalent to 75% of Turkmenistan’s GDP (EIU 2002). - 85 -
Ports and Waterways Turkmenistan has direct access to the Caspian Sea via its port at Turkmenbashi, which requires significant investment before it can be used as a major transit hub. The Caspian Sea then allows access to two main transit routes. The most common route is the land route through Azerbaijan and Georgia, using the ports of Baku (Azerbaijan) and Bat’umi (Georgia). An alternative route is via the Volga-Don canal, which is capacity limited and is Russian sovereign territory. It is unclear the extent to which Turkmenistan uses this route. POLITICAL RELATIONS Under the totalitarian government of Saparmurad Niyazov, Turkmenistan has pursued an official policy of neutrality, and limited its relationship with neighboring countries to a point of isolation. While Turkmenistan is ethnically fragmented like the other former Soviet republics, it has not engaged in civil war and has not been involved in the region’s geo-ethnic positioning. Rather, the country’s foreign policy focuses on the need to secure export routes and markets for its oil and gas exports. The most important of these routes is via Russia, and the most important market, Ukraine. Relations with Russia have typically been cordial, but have been increasingly unstable as the Russian state-owned firm, Gazprom, has restricted Turkmenistan’s exports to Europe. Ukraine, however, has publicly mentioned the possibility of re-exporting Turkmen gas to Europe. Turkmenistan has also recently witnessed deteriorating relations with Uzbekistan. Competition on the gas market, domestic tensions with the Uzbek minority, and the recent expulsion of the Uzbek ambassador to Turkmenistan on accusations of participating in a plot to assassinate the president, have all hampered relations. A long running dispute over property rights on the Caspian Sea has also weakened Turkmenistan’s relationships with some of its neighbors, most notably Azerbaijan. In contrast, relationships with Iran and the new government in Kabul are fair. Turkmenistan has recently signed an agreement with Afghanistan and Pakistan to build a 1,500km-long gas pipeline through both countries. - 86 -
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THE CHALLENGES FACING LANDLOCKED DE
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to link to global markets. In doing
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TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
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First, landlocked countries are dep
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together a wide variety of sources,
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infrastructure. In these cases the
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1.2.3. VULNERABILITY TO CIVIL CONFL
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the Central African Republic - Came
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1.3 INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT 1.3.1
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• The southern African landlocked
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PART 2: COUNTRY CASE STUDIES - 18 -
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Internal transport networks in the
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Ports Although Botswana’s geograp
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POLITICAL RELATIONS Lesotho’s int
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elatively better quality than most
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SWAZILAND Despite being landlocked,
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ZAMBIA While Zambia shares its bord
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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 and 70: Finally, and most importantly for M
Page 71 and 72: TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE Road
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: TURKMENISTAN With direct access to
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
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Mutumba-Lule, A. (2001). 17 Firms V
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Jean-Bertin, O. (2002). Burkina Fas
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Evlo, K. (1995). Transit Transport
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ASIA - CENTRAL United Nations (1994
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UNESCAP (2002). Afghanistan: Status
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EIU (2001). Railways in Kyrgyz Repu
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Spiegel Online (2002). Moldawien, S
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USDA FSA (2002). Tajikistan Shippin
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CAUCASUS ARMENIA Armenia Foreign Mi
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World Bank (2000). Project Appraisa
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World Audit (2001). World Democracy
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MONGOLIA Canning, D. (1998). A Data
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WDI (2002). World Development Indic
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UN DHA (1997). Paraguay El Niño Fl
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Map 1
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Table 2: Human Development - Rankin
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Table 4: Exports per Capita (2000 c
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Figure 1: Human Development Indicat
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