Improving Access To The Sea For West African Landlocked Countries

This case study aims to analyze the importance of transit transport system and time factors in the competitive positioning of West African ports by serving landlocked markets of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The lack of territorial access to the sea, aggravated by the prohibitive transport costs associated with conditions of inadequate infrastructure, poses serious constraints on economic development of landlocked countries. After describes the normal functioning of transit transport, this study offers a diagnostic summary of the current situation in West Africa. It takes a closer look at the dependence of landlocked countries on commodity exports and evaluates the impact of transit policy on transport costs and services. The performance of the Port of Cotonou and the Benin transit corridor has been confronted with its main competitor Abidjan Port in Cote d'Ivoire and Lome Port in Togo. This analysis based on the port interface (waiting time, documents and costs to import) and to the land interface with corridors constraints management in the transit countries. It identifies specific problems that affect utilization, development and maintenance of transit transport infrastructure in the region and discusses possible options for more efficient use of transit transport infrastructure in both the landlocked and transit countries. The study concludes that although major efforts have been made in the past to improve transit transport systems in West Africa, the removal of non-physical barriers remains a major challenge and on which deserves high priority. Simplification and harmonization of customs and administrative documentation and procedures which can be attained with modest investment can achieve immediate benefits in terms of improving transit times and reducing transit transport costs.