Connectivity for Caribbean Countries : An Initial Assessment
Their vital relation with the Caribbean Sea is a defining factor for the many cultures, languages and countries that co-exist in the Caribbean. This factor acts as both the most important vehicle and as their most challenging obstacle to connect wi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/01/19886649/connectivity-caribbean-countries-initial-assessment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20080 |
| Summary: | Their vital relation with the
Caribbean Sea is a defining factor for the many cultures,
languages and countries that co-exist in the Caribbean. This
factor acts as both the most important vehicle and as their
most challenging obstacle to connect with the world, and
represents the starting point for every single discussion
around Caribbean states: the fact that they are sea-locked
countries (for most), small economies, with a high level of
vul¬nerability to natural disasters and a geographic
location that calls for regional cooperation and
integration. Two of these the fact that they are sea-locked
and their location in the Caribbean pose critical and
unchangeable barriers to maximizing the development of their
infrastructure and connectivity. In consequence, exchanges
of goods and services with the rest of the world are limited
to air and maritime transport modes, logistics costs are
gen¬erally higher, and they face a disproportionate risk
disruption due to natural disasters. This all translates
into a cost premium for developing both infrastructure and
transport services, regardless of the degree of efficiency
of the investment decision process. In the Caribbean Growth
Forum (GCF), economic growth and competitiveness of member
countries are in¬variably intertwined with air and maritime transportation. |
|---|