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Mauritania: Transport and communications(EIU Viewswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) COUNTRY BACKGROUND FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Sparse transport network Road transport accounts for 90% of passenger traffic and 80% of goods movement in Mauritania. The network of tarred roads grew from 414 km in 1973 to 2,713 km in 2002 and to 10,237 km by the end of 2004. This rapid growth was the result of a UM22.4bn (US$83m), four-year spending project on the road network. Much of the money was also spent on maintaining existing roads. Main roads connect Nouakchott with Rosso, Akjoujt, Nema and Nouadhibou. However, the recent expansion of the network masks several weaknesses, in particular, the work was carried out almost entirely by foreign enterprises using aid money, and the secondary road network is extremely disadvantaged. There is also a 704-km railway linking the port of Nouadhibou with the iron ore mine at Zouerate. The trains are said to be the longest in the world, at over 3km, and services are dominated by iron ore transport; however, passenger cars are also used. The country's two ports are at Nouadhibou and Nouakchott. Nouadhibou handles most fish and all iron ore exports, as well as imports for the iron ore mine and the oil refinery; the capital receives the bulk of other imports. River navigation is possible along the entire length of the Senegal River in Mauritania when it is in flood, but only as far as Bouge when releases from the Manantali dam (on the Bafing River, a tributary of the Senegal River, in south-western Mali) are restricted. Limited air services International airports at Nouadhibou, Nouakchott and Atar have connections to 13national airports and 20 airstrips. Despite some improvements, the IMF noted in the 2007 poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) that the airport infrastructure failed to meet international standards for capacity, safety or comfort. As a result, the growth in the number of air passengers has been slow, at only around 5% between 2000 and 2005. The slow pick-up in air travel means that the chance of an economic return from an investment in the air sector is questionable, a fact that is likely to deter most international investors. The national airline, Air Mauritanie, was partly privatised in early 2000, when two-thirds of the government's holding was sold to a consortium headed by the financially troubled Air Afrique, which then went out of business in 2002. Despite Air Afrique's demise, Air Mauritanie remains in service, and in August 2006 51% of Air Mauritanie was sold to Royal Air Maroc of Morocco. Air Mauritanie flies to Paris and to several countries in West Africa. Air Mauritanie was prohibited from flying in the UK in 2005 because of concerns over the ability of Mauritania to provide adequate oversight. The state-run mining company, Societe nationale industrielle et miniere, runs its own air service. Telecommunications The national telecommunications company, Mauritel, was privatised in April2001 (54% of its shares being sold to Maroc Telecom), although it remains the monopoly provider of fixed-line services. According to the UN International Telecommunication Union, in 2004 there were 39,000 fixed lines throughout the country (up from 38,400 the year before, although slightly down in terms of main lines per 100 inhabitants as a result of population increases). Two companies, Mattel (a Mauritanian-Tunisian telecoms company) and Mauritel (owned by Maroc Telecom, which is itself owned by France's Vivendi), were initially granted mobile-phone licences, and in August 2006 a new Mauritanian operator, Chinguitel, was also granted a licence. However, some doubts were raised concerning the auction process when it was revealed that Chinguitel paid US$107m for the licence, US$70m more than the second-place bid by France Telecom. Mauritania, as with much of Africa, is a rapidly expanding market. Access to mobile phones continues to rise, reaching 17.53 per 100 inhabitants in 2004. Coverage extends mainly to urban areas such as Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. Overall access to telephones (mobile and main lines) grew from 0.6 to 18.8 telephones per 100 people between 1999 and 2004, largely because of the growth in mobile phones. Satellite stations link Mauritania with Arabsat, Intelsat and Domsat, allowing broadcasting and communication between regional centres. Mauritel runs the country's only Internet service provider, but the access fee is high. Telecommunications indicators20012002200320042005Main lines24,85631,52938,40039,00041,000Main lines (per 100 inhabitants)0.951.181.391.311.34Mobile phones (per 100 inhabitants)4.259.2112.7517.5324.3No. of personal computers27,00029,00035,00042,00078,000Internet users7,00010,00012,00014,00020,000Source: International Telecommunication Union, African Telecommunications Indicators.Media Despite the registration of some 400 newspapers and journals in Mauritania, only about 30 appear with any regularity. The main government-owned newspapers are Horizons (published in French) and its Arabic sister version, Chaab. Despite a law guaranteeing press freedom, independent newspapers and magazines suffer frequent censure for publishing articles critical of the country's leaders or commenting on sensitive issues, in particular the persistence of slavery in Mauritania and calls for an end to relations with Israel. In 2006 the easing of the repression of the media led to Freedom House, a non-governmental organisation, upgrading its rating of the Mauritanian media from "Not free" to "Partly free". In October 2006 the government created Mauritania's first independent media regulatory body, the High Authority for the Press and Broadcasting, although the president remains responsible for appointing three of the six members of the authority. The state also controls all television and radio broadcasting services. Copyright 2007 Economist Intelligence Unit |