AFGHANISTAN : A LAND LOCKED COUNTRY WITH TRANSIT POTENTIAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

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AFGHANISTAN A LAND LOCKED COUNTRY WITH TRANSIT
POTENTIAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

• Presentation by Mr. Ghous Mohammed Baheer
• President of Department of International Transit
  and Border Ports, Ministry of Commerce,
  Afghanistan
• Meeting on the Design and Implementation of
  Transit Transport Arrangements
• Geneva, 24 26 November 2004

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Introduction

• Afghanistan faces a double challenge
• Afghanistan is a land-locked country.
• Afghanistan has the potential for becoming a
  land-link country.

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LAND LOCKED COUNTRY

• Pakistan and Iran are currently the two main
  countries for access to a sea port
• Pakistan ports of Karachi , Port Qasim and
  Gawadar
•  Iran ports of Cha Bahar and Bandar Abbas
• Presently, the Pakistan routes handle most of
  the relief and donor cargo while the Iranian
  routes handles most of the commercial freight

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CHALLENGES

• As any land locked country, Afghanistan faces 3
  main challenges
• increased transport costs relative to those
  incurred by countries with direct access to the
  sea
• dependence on the transit countrys transport
  facilities
• lack of control over the development of transport
  management and policy, which are shaped by the
  transit country according to considerations of
  its own economic and social interests.

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TRANSIT COST (in US ) AND TIMES (in
days) Source World Bank report Trade and
Regional Cooperation between Afghanistan and its
neighbours, February 2004
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BILATERAL, TRILATERAL AND REGIONAL AGREEMENTS

• Afghanistan has bilateral agreements with Iran,
  Pakistan and Uzbekistan, and is negotiating with
  Tajikistan.
• Afghanistan has signed trilateral agreements with
  Iran-Tajikistan, Iran-Uzbeksitan, India-Iran for
  using Iranian ports.

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BILATERAL, TRILATERAL AND REGIONAL AGREEMENTS
(CONT)

• Afghanistan is member of ECO, and is going to
  reactivate the membership to the IRU-TIR.
• Problems of implementation
• support and commitments of countries signatories
• lack of monitoring
• The establishment of Monitoring and
  Coordinating Authorities is a way to highlight
  that both countries are willing to cooperate for
  its full implementation

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LAND LINK COUNTRY

• Afghanistan has a strategic location
• for linking Central Asia with South Asia a
  crucial transport link between Pakistan and
  Central Asia, and,
• provides most of Central Asia with its shortest
  access to the sea, in comparison with routes to
  the Black sea, Europe and China

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Central Asian Republics Access to the sea by
Road (in kilometers)

• I. Via Kabul, Kandahar, Herat.
• II. Via Kabul, Kandahar, Delaram, Zaranj.
• III. Via Meymaneh, Herat Delaram, Zaranj.

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CORRIDORS APPROACH

• The North-South road Corridor connecting
  Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan through
  Afghanistan and Pakistan to the ports of Karachi,
  Port Qasim and eventually Gawador, to be covered
  by Afghan - Pakistan Corridor Agreement
• The East West Corridor connecting these central
  Asian States through Afghanistan and Iran to the
  ports of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar to be covered
  by the Afghan - Iran Corridor Agreement.

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY AFGHANISTAN

• Constructing new links, or rehabilitating the
  existing networks
• Ring Road of 2237 km road will be constructed to
  connect most of the provinces to each other
• Kabul Kandahar 485 km completed
• Kandahar Herat 456 km on going survey
• Herat Andikoy 550 km on going construction
• Pulikhun Dushi 43 km planned
• Dushti Kabul on-going construction

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY AFGHANISTAN (CONT)

• Link Road 1100km to link the Ring road with the
  border posts of surrounding countries
• Kabul Jalalabad - Torkham 224 on going
  construction
• Kabul Gardiz 125 km survey on going
• Gardiz Khost 105 km design completed
• Khost Ghulam Khan 70 km planned
• Jalalabad Asmar 130 km Survey completed
• Kandahar - Spin Boldak 104 km (funded by ADB)
  will be completed by end 2004. The first layer
  was completed by end of Dec 2003
• Dileam Zaranj 212 km survey Completed
• Haeat Islamqala 120 km completed
• Harat Torgundi 119 km planned
• Pulikhun Sher Khan Bandar 169 km on going
  construction
• Pulilhum Hairtan 265 km on going construction

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY AFGHANISTAN (CONT)

• CRITICAL ISSUE
• Establishment of an adequate user charge system
  to cover the incremental roads and bridges costs
  imposed by the transit traffic.

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY AFGHANISTAN (CONT)

• Streamlining border crossing formalities to
  reduce high transit costs at the borders.
• The objective is to
• require a minimum of documentation and
  formalities
• controls not to cause excess slowing down or a
  prolonged stoppage
• allow rapid transit without bureaucratic delays
• clear the goods with maximum speed and minimum
  documentation and,
• eliminate the cost and uncertainties introduced
  by numerous checkposts, taxes, fees and informal
  payments

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY AFGHANISTAN (CONT)

• Border Control Zones (BCZ)
• Program of rehabilitation of construction of
  border ports facilities with present financing
  from EU and the WB opportunity to establish an
  integrated border management (IBM) approach and
  to clearly specify the role at each border ports
  of the Customs and Border Police, ministry of
  transport and MoC.

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY AFGHANISTAN (CONT)

• Few principles derived from an Integrated Border
  Management approach have been used to design the
  new border facilities
•   Border crossing should be a transit point and
  not a clearance facility. Stop over at the border
  be minimized   
•   Inbound traffic be segregated from outbound
  traffic    
•   Traffic separation between trucks and
  cars/buses/pedestrians
•   procedures between activities of various
  control services be harmonized     
•  number and duration of all types of control be
  reduced.

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ACTIONS TAKEN BY AFGHANISTAN (CONT)

• Establishment of Border Trade Facilitation
  Committee (BTF) at each border composed by
  representatives of the ministries involved in
  trade issues and representatives of the private
  sector. The BTF will
• identify required technical assistance and
  physical investments to ensure effective cross
  border operations
• strengthen the publicprivate dialogue and
  cooperation for improving cross border
  operations
• identify difficulties and to make recommendations
  on issues related to trade and transport in
  transit at each border.

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ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY TRANSIT COUNTRIES

• Full implementation of the transit agreements.
• Minimizing custom inspections along the transit
  routes and the transhipment stations.
• No opening of the cargos carried by sealed
  containers.
• Allowing the cargos to be transported from the
  sea ports to final destination by Afghan trucks
  as well as trucks from transit countries.
• Creating multinational transport companies for
  carrying transit cargos.