Ulaanbaatar
Zandanshatar Gombojav: Zamyn-Uud Soum to Be Granted City Status
Politics
Ulaanbaatar, January 14, 2026 /MONTSAME/. During his working visit to Zamyn-Uud soum, Prime Minister of Mongolia Zandanshatar Gombojav familiarized himself with the operations of the road border crossing’s passenger transport complex and the procedures for cross-border freight transportation.
Following the commissioning of the road border terminal complex in 2023, the border’s capacity has tripled. Before the launch of the complex, between 6,000 and 8,000 passengers crossed the border daily. This figure has now increased to between 8,000 and 12,000 passengers per day.
As part of digital reforms, an electronic gate system has been in operation since May of last year. As a result, approximately 450 people now cross the border daily through the electronic gate, significantly reducing the workload per inspection officer.
Prime Minister Zandanshatar emphasized that until the border process becomes fully digitalized and human dependency is eliminated, strict and continuous inspection procedures must be maintained to minimize risks. He further stated that border and customs officials would be rotated regularly. For example, only five staff members are currently rotating shifts at the X-ray unit in the freight transport section of Zamyn-Uud, which he described as insufficient. At least 15–20 personnel should be trained and assigned on a rotational basis.
More than 70 percent of Mongolia’s total freight turnover passes through the Zamyn-Uud border crossing. With the population and construction activity steadily increasing each year, the Prime Minister noted that there is an urgent need to develop Zamyn-Uud into a major trade and transport logistics hub. He acknowledged that progress in this regard has been slow and instructed the local administration of Zamyn-Uud to complete all preparations necessary to obtain city status by June 1 of this year.
Zamyn-Uud has enormous development potential, the Prime Minister said, but disorder and poor organization have prevented the soum from fully utilizing its opportunities. He stressed that a comprehensive campaign to restore order, beginning at the border itself, would accelerate development.
Zamyn-Uud soum has a population of approximately 25,000, of whom between 5,000 and 8,000 are temporary residents. The soum does not receive state subsidies; instead, it contributes revenue to the budget. Last year, it transferred MNT 18.7 billion to the aimag budget.
