Gobi desert sees world's longest traffic jam www.news.mn
On the Mongolian-Chinese border, superhuman patience is required. Lorries are queuing over a 130-kilometer stretch of road. It's not only harming the health of the drivers, but also the Mongolian economy.
In 2017, Mongolia had been planning to export a total of 11.5 million tonnes of coal to China; however, coal export has slowed due to the limited capacity at the border crossing on the Chinese border; this has resulted in queues now exceeding 100 km.
In the year to date, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC has exported a total of 7.5 million tonnes of coal to China; 2.7 million tonnes from its West Tsankhi sector and 4.8 million tonnes from the East Tsankhi sector.
As a result of the queues and congestion on the border, the coal stock is building up at the Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC mine; currently this has risen to 3.6 million tonnes of coal.
The Mongolian government has been in close contact with Beijing about the queue problem for months; so far the border facility has not been extended. In the meantime as temperatures plummet to below zero in the Gobi one can only but respect the Mongolian truck drivers.
Published Date:2017-11-17