land-locked countries, Which i~atpresent approximately 4.5to5million tonsof goode.•.al C.~Ai.~~entral Atr0 15.Theland-locked countries inEastAfrica havetwotransit-transport corridors fortheiroverseas trade. ThefirstistheNor~hern Corridor, Mombasa-Nairobi­ Kampala-Kigali-Bujumbura byroadorbyrailuptoKampala andthenbyroad.The secondlstheCentral Corridor, whichlinkstheportofOaresSalaamwithKampala bylakeandrail,withBujumbura byrailandlakeandKigalibyrail,lakeand road.Thereisalsoanother potential routelinking Rwanda andBurundi with Mombasb byroad,lakeandrail.Majorinvestments arenowbeinqmadetofunda trans-shipment terminal atI&aka(United Republic OlTanzania) andassociated road infrastructure, andthiswillopenarail/road transport system fromDarasSalaam toRwanda. Asaport,OaresSalaamhasvarious prob.ems, whichhavebeen indicated earlier. Mombasa iswell-equipped butrecently productivity hasbeen reported tobedeclining toapoorlevel. 16.InKenya,theroadispavedthroughout, butonly50percentofthehighway is considered tobeinagoodcondition. TheroadinUgandaisinverypoorcondition andashJrtsection isunpaved. Muchofthefixedinfrastructure oftheTanzanian /...A/UIS88 English ~age11 Railways Corporation isoldandrequires replacement. Thereare.everal capacity constraints andthisi.akeyb~ttle-neck. Evenwithout suchproblem., transit timesarelong.In1985,theywereestimated at20to30daysintheNorthern C~rridor and40to60daysintheCentral Corridor. AlsointheNorthern Corridor alltransit good~havetotransit bondedineachtransit country. The.ebonds coverthelo~s o~customs dutyandsalestaxifthetransit goodsarGdiverted into thedomestic mer~~t. Depending onthecommodity, thebondcanadd1to2percent ofc.i.f.valuetothecostoftransit. 17.In19~7,RwandaandBuru..ldibothshipped mostoftheiroverseas export" vi" OaresSalaam, whileUgandashipped overthreequarters ofitsoverseas exports via Mombasa. Burundi recei~ed 75percentofitsoverseas imports viaOaresSalaam, Rwanda75percentviaMombasa, whileUgandabrought inover&0percentofits imports viaMombas~. Thispattern hasnotbsenastableone.Serious disruptions wereassociated withtheLiberation WarinUganda, andalltheland-locked countries ar.eseeking toestablish viablealternative routesthatcanactas "insurance routes" andalsoaddcornpetition tothesupplyoftransit services. 18.Intermsofregional co-operation, amajor adv~nce hasbeenmadewiththe negotiation andsigning inFebruary 1985oftheNorthern Corridor Transit ~9reement. Aftermorethanthreeyearsofnegotiation ~nthebasisofadraft pr3pared bytheUNCTADsecretariat, theAgreement hasnowbeenratified byall memberStates, thatis,B",rundi, Kenya, Bwanda, Uganda andZaire. Apermanent technical secretariat toprovide advisory services required fortheimplementation oftheAgreement hasbeen e~tablished atMcmbasa. ~UNDP/UNCTAn transit-transport project, whichisintheprocess ofapproval attheU~D~OfficeinNewYork,will support thissecretariat. Thebasicpartofthehgr~~m,ul consists ofprovisions layingdownprinciples fortherightoftransit, thp ~~&ofportfacilities, the definition oftransit routes, documentation and proCf'~\"h6, customs control, regulation oftransport, facilities for·ransit ~Mploroes andtariffs, charges and payment regulations. Thispartalso()n~ains provisions regarding implementation oftheAgreement andsettlement ofdispu~es. Altt)llgh theAgreement addresses essentially administrative andtechnical issues,itsmainsignificance liesinthe (actthtitrepresents apolitica) expression ofgoodwill andacommitment to co-operation between theland-locked countrler andtheirtransit neighbours inthe subregion. 19.Theland-locked countries ofWest-Central Africainclude Burkina Faso,the Central African ReF~blic, Chad,MaliandNiger. Theirmaintransit countries are Algeria, Benin,Cameroon, Congo,Coted'Ivoire, Ghana,Nigeria, Senegal andTogo. Burkina Faso'sprimary accesstotheseaistheroutetotheportofAbijdan in Coted'Ivoire, reached bytherailway. Abidjan canalsobereached byroadfrom Ouagadougou. Threequarters oftheexternal tradeofBurkina rasousesthis corridor and80percentofthecorridor's traffic lStoorfromoverseas. The otherprincipal alternative transit corr~dor isviaTogotoLom'byroad,moatlyin Togo(75percent),whichcarries onequarter ofBurkina Faso'bexternal trade. Another routethatcouldbeusedisthefullysurfaced roadtoTema,Ghana.
**Analysis**
The text discusses the challenges faced by land-locked countries in East Africa, specifically in terms of their overseas trade and transit routes. It highlights the importance of regional cooperation and the signing of the Northern Corridor Transit Agreement, which aims to establish a more efficient and reliable transit system. The text also mentions the condition of the infrastructure, including roads and railways, and the need for investment to improve it.

**Category**
Transport and communication, International trade