TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Overview: Bolivia’s extreme terrain and elevation changes make cross-country transportation difficult. Flooding and landslides also cause problems. Because Bolivia is landlocked, the oceans offer no aid in moving commodities, and export costs are higher for Bolivia than for most other countries in South America.
Roads: Bolivia has more than 60,000 kilometers of roads. Only 4,000 kilometers of that total, however, are paved. A transportation improvement plan calls for the country to double the length of paved roads by 2006. Ongoing improvement projects include a highway between Santa Cruz and the Brazilian border at Puerto Suárez and another between La Paz and the Brazilian border at Guayaramerín.
Railroads: Bolivia’s railroad network extends nearly 4,300 kilometers. However, rather than one unified network, separate networks exist in the eastern lowlands and the western highlands. The eastern network connects the Santa Cruz region with both Argentina at La Quiaca and Brazil at Corumbá. The western network connects with Chilean rail centers. Currently, plans exist for a railroad connecting Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. The feasibility and funding for this improvement are under debate. The Bolivian government owned the country’s largest railroad company, Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles, until 1995, when it was capitalized.
Ports: The river port Puerto Aguirre, at the border with Brazil on the Paraguay River, functions as Bolivia’s primary outlet to international waters. In addition, Bolivia has free port privileges in Argentina (Rosario), Brazil (Belém, Corumbá, Porto Velho, and Santos), Chile (Arica), Paraguay, and Peru (Ilo).
Inland Waterways: Bolivia has more than 14,000 kilometers of navigable rivers. The Paraguay River functions as the country’s primary conduit for trade.
Civil Aviation and Airports: Bolivia has more than 1,000 airports spread throughout its territory. Only 16 of these airports, however, have paved runways. The vast majority are rural airstrips. La Paz (El Alto) and Santa Cruz (Viru-Viru) are home to the country’s two international airports. Two airlines dominate domestic travel in Bolivia. Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano services most of Bolivia’s major towns. The state ceded control of the airline in 1995, and now private investors control part of the company. Aerosur, based in Santa Cruz, serves as the country’s other dominant air service provider. Because La Paz is at such a high elevation, large airliners cannot take off from there at full capacity. Most flights from the capital city stop over in Santa Cruz for more passengers or cargo before proceeding to their final destination.
Pipelines: Bolivia has more than 9,000 kilometers of pipelines, with the majority being used to transport natural gas. Bolivia has 4,860 kilometers of pipeline for natural gas, 2,457 kilometers for oil, 1,589 kilometers for refined products, and 47 kilometers for liquid petroleum gas. Some experts maintain that inadequate infrastructure, including pipelines, has prevented Bolivia from taking full economic advantage of its natural resources. Bolivia currently has cross-border natural gas pipelines into Argentina and Brazil.
Telecommunications: The telecommunications industry has expanded and diversified since privatization in 1995. The Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (known as Entel) was purchased by an Italian company and subsequently expanded and improved to offer better service across the country. In 2001 the telecommunications market opened for full competition, and one company (Viva) created a separate network to challenge Entel’s holdings. Although Entel still dominates the market, service, quality and price all have improved to benefit the consumer since 1993. Nevertheless, bureaucratic difficulties still confront many Bolivians trying to establish new telephone service.
Bolivia’s telecommunications development, in comparison with other South American countries, is still relatively limited. Bolivia has 63 fixed telephone lines and 94 cellular subscribers per 1,000 people. Only 2 percent of Bolivians, compared with 3.6 percent regionally, have access to a personal computer. Bolivia has only 21 Internet users per 1,000 people, compared with 76 in Peru, for example. Nevertheless, access to the Internet and the number of Internet users have grown significantly each year. From 2001 to 2002, the number of Internet users in Bolivia increased from 180,000 to 270,000.