Transportation in Yemen
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As a direct consequence of the country's
poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
, Yemen compares unfavorably with its Middle Eastern neighbors in terms of transportation infrastructure and communications network. The roads are generally poor, although several projects are planned to upgrade the system. There is no rail network, efforts to upgrade airport facilities have languished, and telephone and Internet usage and capabilities are limited. The Port of Aden has shown a promising recovery from a 2002 attack; container throughput increased significantly in 2004 and 2005. However, the expected imposition of higher insurance premiums for shippers in 2006 may result in reduced future throughput. The announcement in summer 2005 that the port's main facility, Aden Container Terminal, would for the next 30 or more years be run by Dubai Ports International brings with it the prospect of future expansion.Yemen country profile
Library of Congress Federal Research Division (December 2006). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.''


Roads

Considering Yemen's size, its road transportation system is extremely limited. Yemen has 71,300 kilometers of roads, only 6,200 kilometers of which are
paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...
. In the north, roads connecting Sanaa, Taizz, and
Al Hudaydah Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea. As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...
are in good condition, as is the
intercity bus An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...
system. In the south, on the other hand, roads are in need of repair, except for the Aden–Taizz road. In November 2005, the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Internati ...
approved a US$40 million project to upgrade 200 kilometers of intermediate rural roads and 75 kilometers of village-access roads as part of a larger effort to strengthen Yemen's rural-road planning and engineering capabilities. Plans are underway to build an estimated US$1.6 billion highway linking Aden (in the south) and
Amran Amran may refer to: *'Amran Governorate, Yemen *'Amran (Arabic: عمران) small city in western central Yemen, capital of the 'Amran Governorate * Amran, Gujarat, a village in Jamnagar district, Gujarat, India *Amran District, Yemen People with ...
(in the north). The road will include more than 10 tunnels and halve the travel time between the southern coast and the northern border with Saudi Arabia. Travel by road in Yemen is often unsafe. Within cities, minivans and small buses ply somewhat regular routes, picking up and dropping off passengers with little regard for other vehicles. Taxis and public transportation are available but often lack safety precautions. Despite the presence of traffic lights and traffic policemen, the U.S. Embassy advises drivers to exercise extreme caution, especially at
intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...
s. While traffic laws do exist, they are not always enforced. Drivers sometimes drive on the
left side Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album '' Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * ...
of the road, although right-hand driving is specified by Yemeni law. No laws mandate the use of
seat belt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...
s or car seats for children. The maximum speed for private cars is 100 kilometers per hour (62.5 miles per hour), but speed limits are rarely enforced. Furthermore, there are many underage drivers in Yemen. Many vehicles are in poor repair and lack basic parts such as functional turn signals, headlights, and taillights.
Pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
s, especially children, and animals are a hazard in both rural and urban areas. Beyond main intercity roads, which are usually paved, the rural roads generally necessitate
four-wheel-drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
vehicles or vehicles with high clearance. The British government has a clear warning for their military and civilian employees, or British tourists, about using the roads in Yemen: “In the event of a breakdown of law and order access routes in and out of major cities may be blocked. If you wish to drive outside Sana’a you will need prior permission from the Yemen Tourist Police. Travel permits may take at least 24 hours to be issued and are easiest to obtain through a travel agent. Travel without such permission is likely to result in detention and possible deportation. You should be aware that the consular assistance we can offer outside Sana’a is limited due to restrictions on travel. There have been disturbances in Aden, Lahij and al-Dhali’, which have resulted in closures of the Aden-Sana’a road. These have been short-lived but if you intend to travel by road you should check that the road is open before starting your journey. You can drive in Yemen on an International Driving Permit. Driving standards are poor and mountain roads hazardous. You should avoid all road travel outside the main cities at night. Care should also be taken to avoid minefields left over from Yemen's civil wars. Travelling off well-used tracks without an experienced guide could be extremely hazardous, particularly in parts of the south and the central highlands."


Railways

Yemen does not have any railways, despite several proposals. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman Empire suggested that the Hejaz railway be extended to Yemen, but this never materialized. In 1916 the
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
built a metre gauge railway from Ma'alla in Aden to Sheikh 'Othman. This was later extended to El Khudad, a total distance of . The line was operated by the
North Western Railway The North Western Railway (abbreviated NWR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur,Rajasthan with 59,075+ employees, 658+ stations and a route length of more than 5761 km across at least some parts of four ...
of India until it closed in 1929. More recently, in 2005, the Yemeni government began to investigate rail connections as part of an overall initiative to upgrade its transportation infrastructure. In 2008 the Gulf Cooperation Council announced that it had agreed to include Yemen in plans for an integrated
regional rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...
system and launched feasibility studies. Yemen has expressed preference for a coastal route beginning in
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
.


Ports and merchant marine

Yemen's main ports are
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
,
Al Hudaydah Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea. As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...
, Mukalla, and Mocha; Aden is the primary port. In addition, Ras Isa serves as the loading point for oil exports, and a small amount of cargo passes through Nishtun. Facilities at Aden consist of the Maalla Terminal and the Aden Container Terminal (ACT), which opened in March 1999. The port can handle ro-ro ships, container ships,
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
s, as well as
tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...
. In November 2003, following the October 2002 bombing of the French supertanker Limburg off the Yemen coast and the resultant dramatic drop in throughput at the Aden port, the Port of Singapore Authority sold its majority stake in the ACT back to the Yemeni government. In June 2005, Dubai Ports International was selected to manage and operate the ACT (and possibly Maalla Terminal) under a 30-year or longer contract; the Yemeni government will remain a minority shareholder. The Port of Aden has recovered well from the 2002 bombing. In 2004 it had annual traffic of approximately 2,000 vessels and 318,901 twenty-foot-equivalent units of containers, mostly handled by the ACT. For 2005, the port handled 317,897 twenty-foot-equivalent units of containers, more than double the amount for 2003. For the first seven months of 2006, the port handled 207, 687 twenty-foot-equivalent units of containers. However, in May 2006 the London insurance market's Joint War Committee placed Yemen on its list of “areas of perceived enhanced risk,” which is expected to add a war-risk insurance premium to ships operating in the country's coastal waters. This added premium, coupled with the availability of more secure ports in neighboring countries, will likely result in reduced throughput in Yemen's ports in the near future. There are 3 ships ( or over) totaling / (one
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
and 2
petroleum tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...
s) (1999 est.). The International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the
Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...
are high risk for piracy; numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have been attacked and
hijacked Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...
both at anchor and while underway; crew, passengers, and cargo are held for ransom; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators reduced the incidence of piracy in that body of water by more than half in 2010.Hadden, Robert Lee. 2012
The Geology of Yemen: An Annotated Bibliography of Yemen's Geology, Geography and Earth Science.
Alexandria, VA: US Army Corps of Engineers, Army Geospatial Center. Page 40.
The
Yemen Coast Guard The Yemeni Coast Guard is the coast guard service of Yemen and was founded in 2003. It has constabulary and navigation role in Yemen's ports and regional waters, as the country has of coastline. Since the start of the Yemeni civil war in 2015, t ...
was established in 2002. According to the US Coast Guard website, they helped the Yemen Coast Guard with their patrol boats: “US Coast Guard Awards Contract to Build Two 87-foot Protector-class Coastal Patrol Boats for the Yemen Coast Guard. September 11, 2009. The Coast Guard awarded a $28.2 million contract to Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., in Lockport, La., on September 11, 2009, to build two 87-foot Protector-class Coastal Patrol Boats for the Yemen Coast Guard. The Office of International Acquisition (CG-922) at the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) received a request from the Navy International Programs Office (IPO) to procure these boats on May 13, 2009. The USCG anticipates the delivery to Yemen in August 2011. This procurement is the latest in a series of projects, which further strengthen the longstanding relationship between the US Coast Guard and the Yemen Coast Guard. Since 2003, the USCG has delivered eight 44-foot Motor Life Boats, twelve 25-foot Defender Response Boats, and four 42-foot Fast Response Boats (SPC-NLB) to the Yemen Coast Guard. The USCG has also provided 26 mobile training team visits and 54 resident training slots in USCG schools to the Yemen Coast Guard.” Yemen also has some
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
s that are maintained for sea navigation by the
Yemen Ports Authority Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation is a government corporation that governs and manages the Yemeni ports and harbors in Aden. The corporation was established on 21 April 2007. Port of Aden Geographically the Port of Aden consists of three ar ...
, an extension of the “ Port of Aden.”


Inland Waterways

Yemen has no waterways of any significant length.


Civil Aviation and Airports

Yemen has 57 
airports An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
, 17 of which have paved runways. Of the 57 airports, 5 are international: Aden International, Sanaa International, Taizz,
Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled as ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Its primary settlement is the city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and largely surrounds Metropolitan Doha and funct ...
, and
Al Hudaydah Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea. As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...
. A major reconstruction and expansion of Aden International was completed in 2001, including a new runway that can handle large, long-haul aircraft. Plans to make that airport a regional cargo hub, with an "air cargo village" by 2004 appear to have failed. Although construction began in January 2003, by the end of the year the managing company had dissolved.
Yemenia Yemenia ( ar, اليمنية) is the flag carrier airline of Yemen, based in Sanaa. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger flights to destinations in Africa and the Middle East out of its hubs at Aden International Airport, a ...
is the national airline; in 1996 it absorbed South Yemen, the former national carrier. It is expected that Yemenia, which is currently 49 percent owned by the Saudi Arabian government and 51 percent owned by the Yemen government, will eventually be privatized, but there has been resistance from the Saudis. In 2001 the airline carried 858,000 passengers. Because the airline's existing fleet of 12 airplanes is rapidly becoming outdated, in 2002 three new aircraft were leased for eight years, and in early 2006 the airline announced plans to acquire six new aircraft, with options for an additional four, beginning in 2012.


Airports - with paved runways

''total:'' 17
and over: 4
: 9
: 3
: 1 (2012)


Airports - with unpaved runways

''total:'' 40
and over: 3
: 5
: 7
: 16
under : 9 (2012)


Pipelines

According to the U.S. government, as of 2010 Yemen had a total of 1,262 kilometers of pipeline. This total includes pipeline designed for gas (88 kilometers) and oil (1,174 kilometers).
''oil'' 1367 km
''gas'' 423 km
''petroleum products:'' 22 km


See also

* Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation *
Yemen Red Sea Ports Corporation The Yemeni Red Sea Ports Corporation (YRSPC) () is a governmental institution that is responsible for managing Yemeni Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situat ...
*
Yemen Arabian Sea Ports Corporation Yemen Arabian Sea Ports Corporation (YASPC) () is a sovereign government corporation that supervises the management of Yemeni ports in the Arabian Sea, mainly Port of Mukalla in Hadramawt, Port of Socotra, and Port of Nashtoon in al-Mahara. The ...
* Yemen


Bibliography

* Hadden, Robert Lee. 2012
The Geology of Yemen: An Annotated Bibliography of Yemen's Geology, Geography and Earth Science.
Alexandria, VA: US Army Corps of Engineers, Army Geospatial Center.


References


External links

{{Commons category, Transport in Yemen