n ,r I; l f ',. J,\, E - 152 RESTRICTED Public Disclosure Authorized This report is restricted to use within the Bank INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT Public Disclosure Authorized SYRIAN TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS Public Disclosure Authorized April 20 t 1951 Public Disclosure Authorized Economic Department Prepared by: Grace W. Finne '" .1 SYRIAN TRANSPOR~TION .. Table of Contents. Su~ary and Conclusions page 1 It Highways " 2 II, Railways " 7 III, Ports « 11 IV, Pipelines II 16 V. Aviation It 17 Tables: I. Extent of Roads in selected Middle Eastern Countries II 19 II! The Jezira Road Improvement Program 11 20 III~ Syrian Railways and Connecting Lines If 21 IV. Goods and Passenger Traffic on the Chemin de fer Damas-Hama et Pro­ longement II 23 v. Latakia and ]eirut Port Movements II 24 VI. Port of Latakia Vessel Entrances and Clearances (Cargo M~vements at Lata­ kia (1950 by IvIonth). " 25 . ~:opendices: A, Routes in Syria 13.. Road Dev!?lopment Programs as recommended by: II' The U.LT. Survey Mission II. The :Bureau of Public Roads Ill. Sir Alexander Gibb & Company r,(ap ItSyria: Transportation and Location of Projects". SYRIAN TRANSPORTATION --------~----------~- T.able of Contents ~mmary and Conclusions page 1 I. Highwats II 2 n II •. Railw~s 7 IIf. Ports II 11 lY. pipelines n 16 v. Aviation If 17 Tables .. Appendix Map • SU~~~Y AND CONCLUSIONS Transport projects are of primary" importance for the realization of an economic development program in Syria. Syrta's recently acquired in­ dependence (1946) and separation from the Custcmf s Union with Lebanon (1950) have also created new demands on the transport network. Several transport projects hav~ been technically surveyed and considered by the Government. Insnfflci~nt funds and a shortage of skilled labor have hampered their implementation. Recently, the Bank '.JaS approached for a loan for road improvement projects. Transpo~t projects such as the Jezira road improvement scheme and the Latakia port development plan are closely tied to the plans for agri~~l­ tural development. Improved transportation is necessary to market the pro­ jected i~crease in production and in turn the anticipated level of production and pattern of distribution determine the type and extent of transnort in­ vestment .. Road, railroad and port projects, how~rt are not coordinated in­ to an overall transportation program, which again ~"'ou1d constitute part of a general economic development scheme. In order to achieve a coordinated transport program, furt~er economic surveys should be coupled with adminis­ trative imprQvements to ensure the fullest cooperation between the respective respensible authorities. On the basis of the currently available m~terial, the need for transport develoFment appears to be mainly for road improvements, port of Latakia development and some railway rehabilitation, I. HIGHWAYS Importance. T~e highway network is the backbone of the Syrian transport system. The railways are limited in extent and capacity, waterway transport is in­ signlficant~ and aviation is important only in respect to international pas­ senger ttaffic. Modern truck transport in Syria appears to be the logical conti­ nuation of the ancient caravan transportation. Because of its flexibility, highway transport can adjust to the uneven deIpand for transport services caused by the separation of pllpulation centers by mountains and deser~s and by the seasonal nature of agricultural shipments, The diversified and general~y light shipments make truck ~rans­ port economically advantageous. Furthermore, the comparatively low over­ head cost of road transport facilitatos the financing of improvements. Extent and T:ype of Roads. The ;>yrian road nehrork (see map) compr1!les of ?,8,3? km. of ,,,,hlch 2,4,31 km. are asphalted. The length of asphalted roads was increased from about 1,500 km~ in 1943. to about 2,400 km. in 1948. The more than A,~oO k~. of roads \'lithout ~rd surface are partly macadam roads, partly drY-i·,eather roads and partly trails. Bad stretches on many roads limit the usefulness of the entire road. The density of roads per 100 sC!.~. is about 6.1 kID., ,,,,hieh Qhm... pares favorably with the neighboring countries of Iran and Iraq, but is below 'Iurkey and considerably belo'" Lebanon. (1) Qyerall Desxri~tign of Network, Main road arteries (see atta.ched ma!>s) folIo'" the ancient earavan routes, connecting trading centers. such as Damascus, Aleppo, Horns and Ha~a wi th the Lebanese ports of Beirut a.nd Tripoli, the Syrian port of Lata1da and the Turkish port of Iskenderun. To.t'le East, there are several junction points ,"lth tbe Turkish higb"lay network, 'to the South with Iraq roads and to the West with the Trans~Jordan and Isra~l highway systems. From Alep~o to Beirut and Damascus to :Beirut the roads run parallel to the railroad, "ri th several transfer points. PrinCipal road e rteries are: Aleppo - Home - Damascus - Darea ~ Jordan Aleppo - Raqqa - Deir ez Zor Aleppo - Latakia - Tartouss - Tripeli (Lebanon) Horns Tripoli (Lebanon) - pamascus Oneida - Haifa (Israijl) (1) U.N. Review of Economic' Conditions in the Middle East (Jan~3l,195l); see Table 1. -3- (For a description of principal roads see Appendix A). The extensive mileage of secondary roads and trails serve as feeder roads to the arterial roads. Vehicle Fleet. ; In 1948 there were 10,200 trucks and buses and 4,700 passenger cars registered in Syria. (1) Per 10.000 head of popnlatipn there were 27 trucks and buses and 12 passenger cars. The number of commercial vehicles is limited by the Gove~ent according ~o estimated requirements. A 25 %increase in the trnck fleet is ~der consideration by the Government, but is opposed by truck owners. (2) Trans-desert passenger and freight traffic is handled main­ ly by six companies.(3} Rate, and Qperating Costs. Truck rates in Syria are appronmately as high as ill Latin America and nbcut four, t~mes higher than in the U.S. Yet, trnck tariffs pompare favor~blY with railro~d rates on a major commodity like grain. The base rate for cereals, e.g., from ~ichliye to Aleppo is ~.S. 5 per ton km. by truck, and ~.S. 8 per ton km. by rail. The high cost of highway transport reflects the high operational costs. This is mainly due to the ~gged topography (in the coastal district) and rough roads (in the interior). "'hich increase "lear and tear of the vehicle fleet as well as gas consumption. The time wasted on account of bad roads not only enhances the wage cost for the oper~to~ but also tends to limit the market for perishab~e goods, The Syrian truck tariffs call for a 20 %increase over the base rates on riQn-aSphalted routes. A U.S. study by comparison found an increase of 34.34 %in vehicle operating cost per mile as between an earth road and a paved hIghway. (4) . High excise levies on gasoline and vehicle registration also raise vehicle o~erating costs. The tax pn ga$oline constitutes 66% of the selling price. (5) Although the tax on gas oil is only 10~ of the selling price (6). as yet there are few diesel trucks. (1) lbid page 108. (2) Dept. of Commerce, ]aai~ Highway Report (1949), page 7. (3) Viz: Nairn Transport Co. (i4 vehicles). passenger & Freight. Rafidain Transport Co. (6 vehicles). passenger . Angurly Transport C<:h ~ same United Company for Trans·Desert Transport (passenger). Nathanail Transport Co. (15. vehicles; also rents trncks to implement se~vices). Levant Express Transport Co. (2 large diesel trucks;also rents trucks) (4) Hi h'-1a s & the l'l'ation's Econom - 8lst Congress,2nd Session, Joint Committee - print. Wa~h. 1950) page 18. (5) The selling price is 34,75 piastres per liter: (6) The selll~g price Is 13.18 p1astres per liter. (Source; International Road Fe!eration). Improved roads "'QuId reduce significantly the cost of highway tran$­ port~ It,should not be overiooked, however, that truck and bus trans~ort tariffs are not regulated by the Government and are set at "w'hat the traffic can bear". The Government l!l1ght well su.cceed in lO\1Tering truck tariffs by encouraging the establishment of ne,·! trucking companies or by imposi!l.g govern­ mental control on the rates. Administra.tion. Main road arteries are administered py the Ministry of Public Works and Communicationsl Local roads are administered by the municipal authori­ tiesl' working in. conjunction "dth the Ministry. (1) Within the iUnistr~", the Secretary General and the Director of Pup11c Works are in charge of a. high~ way organization. The highway system is divided in four main administrative regions, each headed by a chief engineer. T~e regions are: (2) The southern region comprising the districts of D~ascus, Hauran, Jebel-Druze, Horns and Hama. The northern region compriSing the Alepp~ district; The western region comprising the Latakia district. The eastern region comprising the Jezira and Eu.phrates districts. E~ch region is further divided into nine dis~ricts, headed by dis­ trict engineers. Transport coordinatiQn, licensing of vehicles, safety regul~ ations~ etc., are under the Director of Communications~ . The four regional engineers submit annually their plans for highway .. construction and maintenance to the Mini stry of Public ',lorks for consider­ ation. The highway program 1s then incorporated in the budget and ;mbmitted to Parliament for final approval.()) The works are carried out in nart through contractors, in part directly by the respective authorities. Finance. Highway maintenance and construction are cove~ed mainly by budget appropriations. FUel taxes and other ve~icle taxes are absorbed by the . Treasury and are nut earmarked for high~~y expenditures. (~) The 1950 Syrian road budget called for eXpenditures of 5.7 million Syrian Iounds, 1..S.