51吃瓜

Over 80% of global merchandise trade travels by sea. But 32 developing countries have no direct access to the open water.

These Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) are in a difficult position because their imports and exports have to transit through neighbouring coastal states in order to reach seaports. Not having their own seaports means they are not fully in control of their own gateways to global commerce. 

Rights of access to the sea have long been endorsed by the international community. Without these rights, landlocked countries cannot participate effectively in international trade. 

Transport corridors are coordinated transport networks that enable such access and can facilitate faster, smoother and more efficient transit and enhance regional connectivity. The corridor approach is being increasingly employed globally to provide designated and efficient transport and logistics routes between landlocked and their coastal neighbours.

A new report published by OHRLLS examines transport corridors around the world and identifies best practices for replicating their successes. Indeed, the success of transport corridors is not as widely known as it should be. There is a need to increase awareness of countries’ practical experiences of transport corridor development and management. These experiences include many successes but also challenges that can be deployed as both learnings and warnings. These relate to legal, financial and regulatory frameworks, infrastructure construction and maintenance, harmonization and implementation of transport facilitation systems and establishment of corridor management institutions. 

This report examines transport corridors in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America and reviews the legal instruments under which they were established, their governance structures and management systems. It identifies key best practices for possible replication in the establishment of new corridors and for the development and management of new and existing ones. 

The report also calls for more data to be gathered so as to grow our understanding of the state of corridors and the effectiveness of previous interventions made to facilitate trade and transport.