Mongolia:Strengthening International Trade and Logistics Through PSP in Mongolia And Pre-Feasibility Study for a Dry Port in Zaminn Udd

  Description of actual services provided by our staff within the assignment: MSL is providing the following services:

1. Develop a strategy to improve the railway corridor efficiency

A1. Legal and institutional framework: MSL is carrying out a complete documentary review and analysis of the legal, regulatory, and institutional framework pertaining to:

• Trade and logistics: (a) international trade (including WTO and agreements entered into by Mongolia at the regional and international level, in particular with PRC and Russia), (b) border management (including customs clearance, immigration and security, health and quarantine, food and drugs, etc.), (c) transport (railway and roads) infrastructure and services, including adaptation to private sector participation; (d) logistics (regulation if any, authorizations to operate, accessibility to foreign investors and operators, barriers to entry, etc.),
• Private sector participation framework (e) economic zones and dry ports, (e) private sector participation, including investment climate, PPPs, and privatization; and (f) decentralization framework. This analysis should include gaps identified (whether from a regulatory or institutional nature, or both, as well as issues pertaining to implementation) and recommendations for improvements.

A2.  Railway operation: MSL is assisting in carrying out a complete assessment of the capacity and condition of the railway corridor, including (a) existing infrastructure, rolling stock and facilities (quantity, quality, and condition), and the need for an upgrade in the short- to medium-term, together with a cost estimate ; (b) operational arrangements and performance, including ownership, governance, competitive landscape, management, staffing and capacity, planning, and investment; (c) financial performance, including revenues, debts, and tariff structure; (d) options for improvement on both operational and financial performance, as well as financing needs and available sources. This should include an assessment of railway SOE reform, tariffs structure reform (to the extent tariffs are set by the authorities), regulatory reform (competition, open access), potential sources of public financing (e.g., through rail fees), and private sector participation to the financing and operation of the railway, including through divesture and PPPs (for example involving mining projects). A3. Quantify volumes and map the entire logistics chain for each segment of the demand: for all main flows (defined by type of trade, OD, commodity), describe the logistics chains and qualify the level of logistics service required versus currently provided at key nodes (that includes outside of Mongolia, for instance, ports and railways in China, or rail in Russia). The logistics chains to be considered include:

• Pure rail transport, for instance, mining exports, containers from China ports to the final destination
• Rail-road combination, with a focus on the logistics (physical operations) and documentation (Customs and other border agencies) processes at the transloading nodes
• Pure road transport, for instance, bilateral China-Mongolia trade
• Conduct a mapping of the public and private transport and logistics stakeholders (freight forwarders, large trucking companies, warehousing operators, cargo handling operators, and railways operators) in Mongolia and, for China, the subset that is providing logistics services to and from Mongolia describing their services and the facilities they operate.

A4. Outline the role of the key platforms in the corridor, the typology of logistics services that could be provided, and particularly, based on the description of the logistics chains referred to in paragraph 12, and the logistics services offer in paragraph 13, identify the opportunities for business development for the private logistics operators: final destination platform (for instance Ulaanbaatar), or logistics critical node (for instance the borders, particularly Zamiin Uud). This will include a simplified SWOT comparative analysis of the locations declared as dry ports in the Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports (UN, 2013):  Ulaanbaatar, Zamiin-uud, Sainshand, Altanbulag, and Choibalsan.  

1. Roadmap for enhancing the role and efficiency of the Zamiin Uud logistics platform, including pre-feasibility of its development into a full fledge dry port

B1. Review border agencies (Customs, SPS, standards, etc.) procedures

• at the border, at both Erenhot and Zamiin Uud) for each main type of trade with a focus on the management of information between China and Mongolia border management agencies
• at the Chinese ports for international transit
• Assess potential traffic at the ZU facility according to the type of trade with different growth scenarios. This section builds on the section described in paragraph 12 for the corridor strategy, for all categories of trade crossing the border at ZU: pure rail, multimodal rail/road, and pure road:

B2. Volumes per type of trade (OD, commodity, cargo type)

• Logistics costs for the entire logistics chain, with a detailed description of the costs at the ZU border (logistics costs and border compliance costs)

B3. A detailed review of the ZU logistics facilities and condition, as well as the China platform at Erenhot

• Define the recommended infrastructure and equipment upgrade for the logistics platform and develop the corresponding investment plan
• Identify potential areas adjacent to the platform for the development of value-added logistics services.

B4. Current organization and performance of the logistics platform: MSL is  reviewing and evaluating the current arrangements governing the operation of the logistics platform, including (a) legal and institutional framework (incl. contractual basis to operate); (b) nature of public and private parties involved in the operation and the nature of the logistics services they provide; (c) compliance and performance by said parties; and (d) operational, economic and financial efficiency of the current structure, and options for improvement, notably additional logistics services that could be developed at ZU platform B5. Preliminary assessment for the establishment of a dry port at ZU: MSL is developing a financing plan based on the organization recommended under paragraph 17 with scenarios for funding investment and operations (Private sector investment and operations, public-private partnerships). The financing analysis needs to also consider costs to the traders in its analysis, not only the financial and economic viability of the development.   C.Gender dimension C1. In conducting the analyses that are part of these TORs, MSL is providing an opinion on whether or not their recommendations have any positive or negative impacts on gender and whether gender is a relevant consideration in any of the above assessments.  If it is, then gender will be taken into consideration. The Consultant will then adjust the composition of their team and give a proposed methodology in the inception report.   D.Covid The International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) has published guidance for ports to mitigate the risks associated with Covid19. To a large extent, the guidelines are applicable to inland facilities such as dry ports and logistics platforms. MSL is reviewing operational procedures for covid19 in place at ZU and assessing their compliance or gaps with the IAPH guidelines.