Improving Transnational Transport Corridors
In the OIC Member Countries: Concepts and Cases
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5. Conclusions and Recommendations
This chapter starts with a summary of the key findings of the study. In addition, this chapter
provides recommendations and identifies prioritized possible policy options to implement
these recommendations using the framework developed in the literature review chapter. The
recommendations build upon the analysis of the previous chapters and aim to provide a
concrete basis for understanding the transport corridor challenges in the OIC region.
5.1. Conclusions on OIC Transnational Transport Corridors
Conclusions on the OIC transport corridors are drawn based on the literature review and the
six case studies, following the framework areas that have been used in the previous chapters.
1. Political and Institutional Factors
These factors are the most important factors when it comes to OIC transport corridors. It
is very clear that transport corridors demand a high level of political cooperation for them
to be successful and, as such, can be a driver to improve political relations between
different territories along its route.
Tensions and even conflict affect some OIC member states. As a result, trade restrictions
and limitation applied to one or more corridor countries. These interruptions of the
transport flow create uncertainty, reduce transport efficiencies, increase transportation
costs and consequently the competitiveness of the goods. Moreover, they reduce the OIC
member countries’ competitiveness as trading partner.
In terms of institutional factors, there is significant room for improving the governance of
the OIC transport corridors. Of 50+ OIC countries only 20+ are on formal transport
corridors. By formal it is meant that there is a common treaty and secretariat. The other
OIC countries do not have corridors relate through bilateral trade agreements. The lack of
transport corridors in most OIC countries is recognized which provides the rationale for
the study.
The OIC corridors that do have a secretariat face mostly low institutional capacity, as such
it cannot function properly. Among the three OIC regions, Asia has the most well
performed transport corridors.
2. Economic factors
The success of a transport corridor has a positive impact on the economy of its member
countries. This is evident in the successful transport corridors in the developed countries.
OIC countries belong to the developing world and their transport corridors perform less
than those in the developed world. The average EoDB of OIC countries is only better than
that of Sub-Saharan Africa, but less than the rest of the world. It indicates that OIC
countries are still struggling with simplifying and streamlining their business processes,
which reflects high constraints on trade As a result of this it is likely that the transport
component of the cost of trade is higher than it should be and that development may be