Mongolia
2.3 Mongolia Road Network
Home

Mongolia Road Network


For information on Mongolia Road Network contact details, please see the following link 4.1 Mongolia Government Contact List

Mongolia has a state road network of just over 12,660km, of which only about 2,244 km are paved, 1,440 km has a gravel surface and 1,346 km has an improved earth surface. Over 6,900 km is earth tracks. Most overland roads in Mongolia are gravel roads or simple cross-country tracks, and most of these are not reliable year-round; consequently, loading capacity is limited. Lack of snow or ice clearing in winter and no system of sanding or gritting road surfaces leads to ice formation that lasts for a long time and slows traffic. At present only two paved road leads to a border post, the road from Ulaanbaatar to the Russian border and the road to the Bulgan border post with China in the west of Mongolia. The road south to the Chinese border at Zamyn Uud currently has about 450km of unpaved road. Other paved roads from Ulaanbaatar exist but are very limited (500 km westward and 250 km eastward). Some road construction projects are currently underway (construction of the east–west so-called Millennium Road) and others are under consideration (a third paved border road, in Western Mongolia linking China to Russia).

Road construction and maintenance fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Road, Transportation, Construction and Urban development of Mongolia. TRANSIT TIMES/COST - trucks are approximately 2 times more expensive than train. From Tianjin - Zamyn-Uud by truck is 2-3 days. Before embarking on any journey, local advise is to seek information from bus or trucking companies to determine the latest conditions. Distances can be deceiving. 100 km can take anything from one to four hours depending on the road and weather. Often there will be 30 or 40km of paved road leading away from a town such as Khovd or Saishand but then it will turn into a braiding of dirt track for hundreds of kilometres where the driver will choose one of several tracks running through open ground. There are few bridges on the dirt roads so fords are common. Traffic is very light, ranging from one to twenty vehicles per hour. Ministry of Road, Transportation, Construction and Urban Development of Mongolia manage the process.   Private licensed companies, through a tender process maintain and build the roads. Funding for road development projects is through loans, technical assistance, grants, and other aid received sources such as the World Bank, Asian Development bank,European Union, Japanese Government, and Kuwait fund for Arabic Development.

Distance Matrix

  Ulaanbatar Tsetserleg Ulgii Bayankhongor Bulgan Altai Choir Darkhan Saishand Choibalsan Mandalgovi Uliastai Erdenet Arvaikheer Dalanzadgad BaruunUrt Sukhbaatar Khovd Murun Undurkhaan Ulaangom Zagaannuur Dornod
Ulaanbatar -                                            
Tsetserleg 430 -                                          
Ulgii 1636 1220 -                                        
Bayankhongor 630 214 1006 -                                      
Bulgan 318 289 1334 503 -                                    
Altai 1001 - 635 371 874 -                                  
Choir 238 630 1644 638 456 1009 -                                
Darkhan 219 537 1582 751 248 1122 457 -                              
Sainshand 463 855 1869 863 781 1234 225 682 -                            
Choibalsan 655 1108 2291 1285 973 1656 439 874 531 -                          
Mandalgovi 260 500 1314 508 - 879 186 479 355 741 -                        
Uliastai 984 531 - 459 807 195 1153 989 1322 1639 967 -                      
Erdenet 371 357 1402 571 68 949 609 180 834 1026 631 809 -                    
Arvaikheer 430 266 1206 200 348 571 494 596 663 1085 308 659 416 -                  
Dalzandgad 553 643 1583 577 725 948 479 772 516 1074 293 1036 793 377 -                
BaruunUrt 560 1013 - - 878 - 462 779 340 191 613 1544 931 990 856 -              
Sukhbaatar 311 629 - 843 340 1214 549 92 774 966 571 1147 272 688 864 871 -            
Khovd 1425 - 211 795 - 424 1489 1519 1658 2080 1303 465 1339 995 1372 - 1612 -          
Murun 671 413 981 617 353 583 909 601 1134 1326 913 388 421 679 1056 1231 693 853 -        
Undurkhaan 331 784 1967 961 649 1332 233 550 302 324 417 1315 702 761 710 229 642 1756 1002 -      
Ulaangom 1336 883 301 988 1033 662 1569 1281 1738 991 1383 529 1101 1188 1585 1896 1373 238 680 1667 -    
Zagaannuur 1568 1115 69 1075 1265 704 1769 1513 1933 2223 1583 761 1333 1275 1652 1228 1605 280 912 199 232 -  
Dornod 667 1120 2303 1297 985 1668 569 986 543 12 753 1651 1038 1097 1059 1208 978 2093 1338 336 2003 2235

Travel Time Matrix

  Ulaan baatar Zamyn-Uud Sukh baatar Choi balsan Ulaan goom Khovd Muren Dalzan dgad Tsetserleg
Ulaanbaatar -                
Zamyn-Uud 20 hours -              
Sukhbaatar 7 hours 27 hours -            
Choibalsan 15 hours 55 hours 22 hours -          
Ulaangoom 6 days 7 days 6.5 days 7 days -        
Khovd 5 days 6 days 5.5 days 6 days 1 day -      
Muren 24 hours 2 days 24 hours 39 hours 2 days 3 days -    
Dalzandgad 24 hours 2 days 31 hours 39 hours 7 days 6 days 2 days -  
Tsetserleg 22 hours 2 days 29 hours 37 hours 7 days 6 days 2 days 2 days -

Road Security

Road security is good though there are safety issues due to cold temperatures in winter and the isolated nature of many roads.  Some humanitarian agencies require that travel to areas that are not on the main roads are done in a two car convoy and many cars are equipped with GPS.

Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits

There are no weighbridges in Mongolia. In rural Mongolia there are no axle load limits.  Trucks over 2mt are not permitted in the inner city of Ulaanbaatar. There are also no axle load limits on the roads from borders posts with Russia or China.

Road Class and Surface Conditions

Mongolia is part of the Asian Highway Network which is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and Europe and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific(ESCAP), to improve the highway systems in Asia.  The roads in Mongolia follow the classification used by the Asian Highway Network.  Mongolia has no primary or Class I or II roads. Most routes in the country are either class III of IV or a mixture of both.  There are few complete sections of roads with consistent surface cover so it is not possible to break it down into sections of road and their classes. Often there will be 30 or 40km of paved road leading away from a town such as Khovd or Saishand. It will then turn into a braiding of dirt track for hundreds of kilometres, where the driver will choose one of several tracks running through open ground.

 

Classification Description
Primary
Access controlled highways Asphalt or cement concrete
Class: I
4 or more lanes Asphalt or cement concrete
Class: II
2 lanes Asphalt or cement concrete
Class: III
2 lanes Double bituminous treatment
Class: IV
gravel, earth roads

For information on Mongolia Road Network contact details, please see the following link: 

4.1 Mongolia Government Contact List

For information on Mongolia Road Network additional information, please see the following link: 

Mongolia Road Network Additional Information

Note: The information provided in the attached documents, which has been taken from the old DLCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately

Jump to top