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| SECTOR PERSPECTIVES
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SERVICES |
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Transport and logistics |
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The Mediterranean is a world corridor for goods which transit via Suez and Gibraltar. Maritime transport is therefore logically the leading means for the transport of goods and passengers – the result largely of the expansion of the cruise business for the latter. The big capital cities are well served by effective airports providing a good and fluid service between Europe and the Southern shore. |
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Transport and logistics |
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Transport and logistics
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Presentation |
The Mediterranean is a world corridor for goods which transit via Suez and Gibraltar. Maritime transport is therefore logically the leading means for the transport of goods and passengers – the result largely of the expansion of the cruise business for the latter. The big capital cities are well served by effective airports providing a good and fluid service between Europe and the Southern shore. Land transport is more problematic, the motorway network is contained within national boundaries and the rail network is underdeveloped.
The flow of passengers and goods has increased considerably during recent years, partly as a consequence of the development of international business and the gradual creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area planned for completion in 2010. Transport and logistics represent stakes of the highest order for the economic development of the Mediterranean partner countries (MEDA countries) which are important partners of the European Union: 6.6 % of the total value of European imports and 7.8 % of exports in 2001.
The European Union, in the context of its Euro-Mediterranean policy, has confirmed its determination to oversee the introduction of an efficacious multi-modal air-sea transport system, through the improvement and the modernisation of ports and airports, the elimination of unjustified restrictions, the simplification of procedures, the improvement of maritime and air safety, the high level harmonisation of environmental rules, including a more efficient system of maritime transport pollution control and a harmonised traffic management system. Similarly, it is supporting the creation of East-West land links on the Southern and Eastern shores of the Mediterranean and the connection of Mediterranean transport networks to the TransEuropean network, in such a way as to insure their interoperability.
An important project financed by the EU is devoted to bringing the MEDA infrastructures up to standard in the perspective of the Euro-Med free trade area planned for 2010 (freight system, access to ports, containerisation and Roll-on/ Roll-off, passenger transport). The systematic recourse to the private sector (project financing) for the financing of this costly programme is one of the main hypotheses. There is an important market here for European enterprises, as much in installations as in operations. |
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Maritime transport |
In terms of logistics, the MEDA countries alone represent an extremely varied group with large differences in size, geography, population, GDP and therefore in their transport infrastructure. But in reality, it is shipping that plays the dominant role in their international economic trade. For example, in volume terms maritime transport provides 98 % of the external trade to Morocco (80 % for Egypt). Fifty seven ports along the southern shore of the Mediterranean handle more than one million tonnes of goods, against 357 within the European Union. The Turkish ports are in the lead with 132 million tonnes and absorbed nearly 28 % of the total maritime trade of the MEDA countries in 2001, ahead of their Algerian counterparts (100 million tonnes), Egypt (58 million tonnes) and Morocco (55 million tonnes). Hydrocarbons mainly dominate the freight from Algeria where Bethiouia, Skikda and Arzew are entirely dedicated to crude oil.
The ten top ports in gross weight of goods from the Mediterranean and the European Union (in millions of tonnes, 2001):
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MEDA Countries
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European Union
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| 1 |
Bethiouia
(Algeria) |
34,919 |
Rotterdam
(Netherlands)
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296,620 |
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| 2 |
Izmit
(Turkey) |
34,621 |
Anvers
(Belgium)
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114,777 |
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| 3 |
Alexandria/Dekhelia
(Egypt) |
28,404 |
Marseilles
(France)
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89,518 |
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| 4 |
Skikda
(Algeria) |
23,988 |
Hambourg
(Germany)
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82,948 |
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| 5 |
Aliaga
(Turkey) |
21,330 |
Le Havre
(France)
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65,356 |
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| 6 |
Casablanca
(Morocco) |
20,161 |
Grimsby/Immingham
(United Kingdom)
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54,831 |
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| 7 |
Istanbul
(Turkey) |
17,469 |
Tees/Hartlepool
(United Kingdom)
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50,842 |
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| 8 |
Banias
(Syria) |
16,865 |
Londres
(United Kingdom)
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50,654 |
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| 9 |
Haïfa
(Israel) |
16,719 |
Amsterdam
(Netherlands)
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48,073 |
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| 10 |
Ashdod
(Israel) |
13,574 |
Trieste
(Italiy)
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44,712 |
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Road and rail transport |
Only eight countries (see table below) have an electrified rail network, albeit patchy and scantily equipped for two way traffic. With the exception of Turkey, the road network has an essentially national character.
The most important road and rail infrastructures of the MEDA countries are located essentially along the coast. Although road is making progress compared with rail, interregional traffic remains low, because of the modest rate of individual automobile ownership. The motorway networks are incomplete, although there are a number of projects underway in Israel, Syria, Morocco and Lebanon.
Road and rail infrastructure (in km, year 2001):
| Country |
Motorways
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Roads
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Rail network
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| Algeria |
645
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104,729
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4,820
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| Lebanon |
n.a.
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7,300
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Out of order
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| Palestinian A. |
n.a.
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n.a.
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n.a.
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| Turkey |
1,851
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382,059
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8,671
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n.a.: not available |
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Air transport |
The link between tourism and air transport is obvious (see table below) for the countries of the MEDA zone. In 2001, more than 102 million passengers, both arrivals and departures, and one million tonnes of freight passed through the airports of the zone. They tend to be very concentrated, thus in 7 of the 12 countries it is the main airport which captures 75 % of the traffic. The latter is even more centralised in countries with strong tourist potential (Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey).
The top fifteen air traffic corridors between Mediterranean countries and the European Union (number of passengers in 2001):
| Pays MEDA |
Union Européenne |
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| 1 |
Antalya
(Turkey) |
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Dusseldorf
(Germany)
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749,847 |
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| 2 |
Antalya |
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Frankfurt
(Germany)
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613,890 |
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| 3 |
Istanbul/Ataturk
(Turkey) |
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Frankfurt
(Germany)
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599,701 |
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| 4 |
Tel Aviv/Ben Gourion
(Israel) |
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London Heathrow
(Royaume-Uni)
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577,846 |
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| 5 |
Alger/Boumediene
(Algeria) |
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Paris CDG
(France)
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538,775 |
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| 6 |
Tunis/Carthage
(Tunisia) |
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Paris CDG
(France)
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486,936 |
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| 7 |
Antalya
(Turkey) |
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Amsterdam/Schipol
(Netherlands)
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482,259 |
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| 8 |
Larnaca
(Cyprus) |
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Athens
(Greece)
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464,473 |
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| 9 |
Istanbul/Ataturk
(Turkey) |
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London Heathrow
(U.K.)
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457,226 |
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| 10 |
Larnaca
(Chypre) |
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London Heathrow
(U.K.)
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442,252 |
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| 11 |
Antalya
(Turkey) |
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Munich
(Germany)
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415,309 |
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| 12 |
Istanbul/Ataturk
(Turkey) |
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Dusseldorf
(Germany)
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401,659 |
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| 13 |
Antalya
(Turkey) |
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Stuttgart
(Germany)
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384,980 |
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| 14 |
Tel Aviv/Ben Gourion
(Israel) |
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Paris CDG
(France)
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375,778 |
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| 15 |
Antalya
(Turkey) |
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Hannover
(Germany)
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369,048 |
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A central position on shipping routes |
The Mediterranean occupies a choice position on the large international shipping routes (the « mother lines », see map below from the Geography Department of the University of Montreal). Its central position, within the three major straits of - Gibraltar, Suez and the Bosphorus, also provides scope for its gradual transformation into a unique call zone for the Orient-America lines, in a context of competitive pressure from global transport operators attempting to drag prices downwards. It has thus created giant shipping “hubs”, located on the edges of these routes, the likes of Algeciras (most southerly point of Spain) or Gioia Tauro (Calabria). This opportunity of reviving activity in the Mediterranean requires that large feeder ports be capable of accommodating large vessels and supplying logistics and goods shipping services towards central and southern Europe, as are Rotterdam, Antwerp or Marseille.
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