1. Road transport in Latvia
Latvia is a small, open economy with exports contributing nearly a third of GDP. Due to its geographical location, transit services are highly-developed, along with timber and wood-processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronics industries. Corruption continues to be an impediment to attracting foreign direct investment and Latvia's low birth rate and decreasing population are major challenges to its long-term economic vitality. Latvia's economy experienced GDP growth of more than 10% per year during 2006-07, but entered a severe recession in 2008 as a result of an unsustainable current account deficit and large debt exposure amid the softening world economy. Triggered by the collapse of the second largest bank, GDP plunged 18% in 2009. The economy has not returned to pre-crisis levels despite strong growth, especially in the export sector in 2011-12. [6]
An important role in the Latvian transport system is played by motor roads. Latvian State roads is performed by the SJSC "Latvian State roads" under the authority of which there are 20,309 km of roads including 8,066 km of black surfacing roads. Historically, Latvia has been one of the main transit points for both north-south and east-west trade flows. Its geographical location remains central to strategically relevant transportation flows connecting major world economies like the USA, European Union, Russia, the CIS and the Far East. The transit sector is one of the strongest industrial sectors in Latvia. This has been recognised by the government which has named transit as a key priority within the Latvian economy. [3] …
