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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

UZBEKISTAN As the only doubly landlocked country in our study, 30 Uzbekistan faces the unique challenge of having to transit another landlocked country to access the high seas. Uzbekistan’s neighbors not only are landlocked, but also suffer from severe political tensions and internal conflicts, as well as poor infrastructure. Moreover, domestic conditions have done little to mitigate such obstacles and have actually worsened the situation. Civil conflict between the Uzbek government and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) continue to threaten the nation’s stability. The government also interferes heavily in the economy refusing to remove selective currency exchange restrictions and on occasion shutting down cross-border traffic. Corruption also continues to be a major problem for Uzbekistan. Although Uzbekistan’s transport system, like those of the other CIS countries, is centered on corridors to Russia, it is one of the most extensive systems of the CIS countries and provides major links to all five of Uzbekistan’s neighbors. Each of these links, however, presents significant challenges: the corridor through Afghanistan has been rendered virtually impassable by the past civil wars, and suffers from severely dilapidated infrastructure; tensions with Tajikistan have led the Uzbek government to plant landmines across the border and strictly limit access; the Kyrgyz corridor is hindered by an ongoing border conflict between the two countries; the Turkmen corridor is hampered by increasingly poor relations between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which are considered to be at an all time low; and, finally, the routes passing through Kazakhstan are constrained by the ongoing struggle for regional power between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. None of these Kazakh routes are all-weather. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE BASIC INFORMATION HDI Rank: 95 GDP per capita 2000 (PPP$): $2,441 Exports per capita 2000 (current USD): $137 Distance to port: Transport cost ratio: 2,950km NA Neighbors: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Primary transit neighbors: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan Main trading partners: Imports: Russia (12%), Korea (12%) Exports: Russia (17%), Ukraine (6%) Primary Exports (2001): Cotton fibre (28%) Energy (12%) Domestic Roads: fair Transit Country Roads: fair Domestic Rails: Transit Country Rails: fair fair Transit Country Ports: good Neighboring Civil Conflict: low Relations w/ Neighbors: poor Roads Uzbekistan has one of the most extensive road networks of the former Soviet republics, connecting it to the road systems of all of its neighbors. However, many of these domestic corridor roads have fallen into a state of disrepair. In response, the Uzbek government has given priority to improving its international corridor links. Several are now in the process of the being upgraded to international standards. 30 Liechtenstein is the only other doubly landlocked country. - 87 -
Domestic transport is hampered by the now anachronistic Soviet road network. The independence of the republics now requires several major domestic roads to pass through neighboring countries’ territory. 31 Due to complex and time-consuming border procedures, trade within the country is significantly hampered. In particular Turkmenistan charges high transit fees on a number of commodities passing through its territory and continues to require special transit visas for each trip (Mayhew 2002). Rail As in most of the former Soviet republics, Tajikistan being a leading exception, railways play the dominant role in Uzbekistan’s international freight traffic, accounting for 86% of all import/export cargo compared to 14% for air and road. Its primary rail corridors pass through Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and then onward through eastern Europe. These routes are plagued not only by political challenges, but also extreme distances. Poor maintenance and limited rolling stock further hamper the rail system. The following table summarizes the costs and duration of rail transit of cotton for several of the main corridors: Port Country Distance Duration Cost Cost/ton per (km) (days) (/t cotton) 1000km Riga Latvia 3929 20-23 84.82 21.59 Ilichebvsk Ukraine 4312 25-26 98.90 22.94 Nakhodka Russia (Sea of Japan) 8622 45-50 156.29 18.13 Brest Belarus (border Poland, 4179 21-23 74.25 17.77 via road) Lyanyunganang China (Yellow Sea) 5991 20-25 215.49 35.97 Farob-Poti Georgia (Black Sea) 2025 10-15 75.32 37.20 Source: (US Embassy Tashkent 2001) Rates for Georgian ports are given with 50% discounts based on 1996 agreement. Rate for Lyanyunganang given with 30% liability mark-up Uzbekistan’s domestic rail system is hampered by the inopportune border delineations discussed above. A number of domestic connections (i.e. Bukhara to Urgench to Nukus) currently pass through Turkmenistan. And since Turkmenistan has not signed the 72 hour transit agreement, all train passengers must acquire a transit visa for Turkmenistan or risk fines (Mayhew et al. 2000). To address this problem, Uzbekistan is now building a new train line bypassing Turkmenistan. Pipelines While Uzbekistan exports natural gas to both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, its gas is exported mainly to Ukraine via Kazakh pipelines. Like most of the Central Asian republics, Kazakhstan is not able to sell oil through to Europe due to Russian restrictions. Ports/Waterways Uzbekistan uses the Baltic Sea ports (primarily Riga), Russian ports (e.g., Novorossiysk), European ports including Bremerhaven (Germany), and more recently the ports of Poti 31 The principal road connecting Nukus in the east with the rest of the country passes twice through Turkmenistan. Similarly, The main eastbound road to the Fergana Valley crosses through Tajikistan. - 88 -
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 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 and 90: TURKMENISTAN With direct access to
Page 91: Ports and Waterways Turkmenistan ha
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 ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?