New escwa plan envisions restored link as part of proposed regional network
Lebanon is finalizing a plan with the Syrian Railway Authority in the next two weeks to reconstruct the railroad line linking the Port of Tripoli to the northern border crossing at Abboudieh, in a move that will consolidate economic ties between the diplomatically estranged countries.
Reactivating the northern track is part of a stalled 2002 bilateral agreement to resurrect the entire Lebanese-Syrian railroad grid - consisting of a north-south axis beginning at the Port of Lattakia and terminating at Tyre via Beirut, and an East-West axis from Damascus to Beirut. The plan is a step toward the creation of a 19,528-kilometer railway network covering most of the Middle East.
A source close to the Syrian-Lebanese negotiations said opposition to the project has been minimal, since the project is in the long-term economic interests of both countries.
"This is a relationship that no one can untie, though the US certainly tries," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The source added that the establishment of the rail link was crucial for Lebanese exports, citing the long queues and delays in summer 2005 when the Masnaa-Jdeidet border crossing was closed temporarily to cargo trucks from Lebanon.
"Neither economy could take it," the source said.
Lebanon is among the 13 signatories of the UN Economic and Social Council for Western Asia's (ESCWA) 2003 Agreement on International Railways in the Arab Mashreq, which entered into force in 2005 after being ratified by five countries.
Nabil Safwa, director of transport at ESCWA, said rehabilitating this portion of the route, labeled "R35" on the Mashreq map, will allow Lebanon to hook into its neighbor's well-developed railway network with minimal investment.
"This will facilitate the movement of goods in out of Lebanon through the Port of Tripoli, which will eventually be able to compete with the ports of Lattakia and Tartous," Safwa said. "Ultimately this could connect Lebanon with Iraq by rail."
Though superficially Damascus might be opposed to exposing its own maritime shipping hubs to competition from the Port of Tripoli, Safwa insists that ultimately the track is in the economic interests of both countries because freight will travel along the Syrian railway system.
Laying new track along the northern route comparatively less expensive than the mountainous R30 line from Beirut to the Syrian capital should cost approximately $1 million per kilometer, depending on the terrain and the quality of the railwork, according to Safwa.
Abdel-Hafeez Kayssi, the director of land and maritime transport at Lebanon's Transport and Public Works Ministry, confirmed that rehabilitating this link on the northern route is the first phase of Lebanon's plan to plug into the future regional rail network from the northern border.
Kayssi said once Syrian and Lebanese authorities agree on a design, the installation of 150 kilometers of high-speed passenger and freight railway should be complete within 24 months. He refused to release a cost estimate for the project until transport officials from each country agree on a final figure based on the results of a recently completed economic feasibility study, but Lebanon is looking for soft loans to fund the project.
"Since it fits into the overall regional railway map, we have several donors who are interested in the project, including the Arab Development Bank and the Kuwaiti Fund," Kayssi said.
Under the 2002 agreement with Syria, Lebanon also agreed to rebuild about 75 percent of the Hijaz railroad. About 16 kilometers of track that had been upgraded in the Bekaa Valley that will ultimately connect the Syrian town of Sirghaya to Riyaq, Lebanon sustained minor damage during the summer's war, but otherwise the project is still on course, said Kayssi, political tension notwithstanding.
"We are not involved in political issues, this is a technical process that will benefit all parties," Kayssi said, explaining the reason why Lebanon's transport officials chose this moment to launch a project that will cement ties between two neighbors whose relations have been badly strained since 2005.
Still, the Arab Mashreq railway remains little more than an abstract idea. Only 60 percent of the railway lines in the Mashreq plan exist, and ESCWA only began assessing the economic feasibility of the routes in 2005.
Though the plan is "technically neutral" in terms of who will benefit, according to Safwa, the countries who front the initial costs will derive the most benefit from the railroad.
"The problem with the railway network is that the upfront cost is higher than a road network, but in the long-run it is the most economical mode of transport, either for freight or passengers," Safwa said. "When you construct a link in a country you are facilitating movement for them first and foremost."
Saudi Arabia is the only signatory of the ESCWA agreement that has moved past the feasibility phase toward the construction process. Saudi Arabian Railways was granted a construction license to begin work on the R15 route, connecting Al-Azraq in the north to Riyadh, and given approval to float shares. The 1,518-kilometer line will offer freight service to boost the country's mineral industry.
They also issued a tender for the R80 route between Riyadh and Jeddah, which will ultimately serve as the link between the Gulf and Levant regions after the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council's railway network is built.
If all goes according to plan, Lebanon stands to benefit most from the Arab Mashreq rail network, according to the results of an ESCWA study. Though the financial benefits differed according to the scenario given Lebanon's location and the size of its territory, the amount of initial investment is minimal compared to the potential gains.
"The amount of track that needs to be laid is small but the fact that it is next to Syria and will connect to their huge railway network, which can be connected very easily with Iraq's railway network, is in their favor," Safwa said. "And if Saudi Arabia and Jordan develop their own railway networks then you can see that the investments in Lebanon will be relatively small compared to the cost of building a rail network in a large country."
By Lysandra Ohrstrom
© The Daily Star 2006
