A diagrammatic map of ground and water transport in the DRCongo in 2000 (roads) and 2006 (waterways and railways)
Ground transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has always been difficult. The terrain and climate of the Congo Basin present serious barriers to road and rail construction, and the distances are enormous across this vast country. Furthermore, chronic economic mismanagement and internal conflict has led to serious under-investment over many years.
On the other hand, the DRC has thousands of kilometres of navigablewaterways, and traditionally water transport has been the dominant means of moving around approximately two-thirds of the country.
Transport problems
As an illustration of transport difficulties in the DRC, even before wars damaged the infrastructure, the so-called "national" route, used to get supplies to Bukavu from the seaport of Matadi, consisted of the following:
In other words, goods had to be loaded and unloaded eight times and the total journey would take many months.
Truck stuck in the mud after a heavy rain
Many of the routes listed below are in poor condition and may be operating at only a fraction of their original capacity (if at all), despite recent attempts to make improvements. Up to 2006 the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) had an operation in Congo to support humanitarian relief agencies working there, and its bulletins and maps about the transport situation are archived on ReliefWeb.[1]
The First and Second Congo Wars saw great destruction of transport infrastructure from which the country has not yet recovered. Many vehicles were destroyed or commandeered by militias, especially in the north and east of the country, and the fuel supply system was also badly affected. Consequently, outside of Kinshasa, Matadi and Lubumbashi, private and commercial road transport is almost non-existent and traffic is scarce even where roads are in good condition. The few vehicles in use outside these cities are run by the United Nations, aid agencies, the DRC government, and a few larger companies such as those in the mining and energy sectors. High-resolution satellite photos on the Internet show large cities such as Bukavu, Butembo and Kikwit virtually devoid of traffic, compared to similar photos of towns in neighbouring countries.[2]
Air transport is the only effective means of moving between many places within the country. The Congolese government, the United Nations, aid organisations and large companies use air rather than ground transport to move personnel and freight. The UN operates a large fleet of aircraft and helicopters, and compared to other African countries the DRC has a large number of small domestic airlines and air charter companies. The transport (and smuggling) of minerals with a high value for weight is also carried out by air, and in the east, some stretches of paved road isolated by destroyed bridges or impassable sections have been turned into airstrips.
For the ordinary citizen though, especially in rural areas, often the only options are to cycle, walk or go by dugout canoe.
Some parts of the DRC are more accessible from neighbouring countries than from Kinshasa. For example, Bukavu itself and Goma and other north-eastern towns are linked by paved road from the DRC border to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, and most goods for these cities have been brought via this route in recent years. Similarly, Lubumbashi and the rest of Katanga Province is linked to Zambia, through which the paved highway and rail networks of Southern Africa can be accessed. Such links through neighbouring countries are generally more important for the east and south-east of the country, and are more heavily used, than surface links to the capital.
Major infrastructure programs
In 2007 China agreed to lend the DRC US$5bn for two major transport infrastructure projects to link mineral-rich Katanga, specifically Lubumbashi, by rail to an ocean port (Matadi) and by road to the Kisangani river port, and to improve its links to the transport network of Southern Africa in Zambia. The two projects would also link the major parts of the country not served by water transport, and the main centres of the economy. Loan repayments will be from concessions for raw materials which China desperately needs: copper, cobalt, gold and nickel, as well as by toll revenues from the road and railway. In the face of reluctance by the international business community to invest in DRC, this represents a revitalisation of DRC's infrastructure much needed by its government.[3]
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has fewer all-weather paved highways than any country of its population and size in Africa — a total of 2250km, of which only 1226km is in good condition (see below). To put this in perspective, the road distance across the country in any direction is more than 2500km (e.g. Matadi to Lubumbashi, 2700km by road). The figure of 2250km converts to 35km of paved road per 1,000,000 of population. Comparative figures for Zambia and Botswana are 721km and 3427km respectively.[4]
Categories
The road network is theoretically divided into four categories (national roads, priority regional roads, secondary regional roads and local roads), however, the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC) reports that this classification is of little practical use because some roads simply do not exist. For example, National Road 9 is not operational and cannot be detected by remote sensing methods.[5]
The two principal highways are:
National Road No. 1 connecting the Atlantic seaports with Kinshasa and southeast Katanga, the most important economic area of the country due to its copper and other mines.
Note that the so-called Kinshasa Highway is not a physical road but a metaphor applied to the route by which AIDS is believed to have been spread east through Uganda and Kenya and neighbouring countries by truck drivers from the Congo. In the DR Congo the only highway which physically matches the route is National Road No. 2,[original research?] and most passengers and freight moving between Kinshasa and that road go by boat along the Congo River.
The UNJLC also points out that the pre-Second Congo War network no longer exists, and is dependent upon 20,000 bridges and 325 ferries, most of which are in need of repair or replacement. In contrast, a Democratic Republic of the Congo government document shows that, also in 2005, the network of main highways in good condition was as follows:
The 2000 Michelin Motoring and Tourist Map 955 of Southern and Central Africa, which categorizes roads as "surfaced", "improved" (generally unsurfaced but with gravel added and graded), "partially improved" and "earth roads" and "tracks" shows that there were 2694km of paved highway in 2000. These figures indicate that, compared to the more recent figures above, there has been a deterioration this decade, rather than improvement.
Tripoli-Cape Town Highway: this route crosses the western extremity of the country on National Road No. 1 between Kinshasa and Matadi, a distance of 285km on one of the only paved sections in fair condition.
Lagos-Mombasa Highway: the DR Congo is the main missing link in this east–west highway and requires a new road to be constructed before it can function.
Beira-Lobito Highway: this east–west highway crosses Katanga and requires re-construction over most of its length, being an earth track between the Angolan border and Kolwezi, a paved road in very poor condition between Kolwezi and Lubumbashi, and a paved road in fair condition over the short distance to the Zambian border.
Waterways
The DRC has more navigable rivers and moves more passengers and goods by boat and ferry than any other country in Africa. Kinshasa, with 7km of river frontage occupied by wharfs and jetties,[8] is the largest inland waterways port on the continent. However, much of the infrastructure — vessels and port handling facilities — has, like the railways, suffered from poor maintenance and internal conflict.
The total length of waterways is estimated at 16,238km[9] including the Congo River, its tributaries, and unconnected lakes.
The 1000-kilometre Kinshasa-Kisangani route on the Congo River is the longest and best-known. It is operated by river tugs pushing several barges lashed together, and for the hundreds of passengers and traders these function like small floating towns. Rather than mooring at riverside communities along the route, traders come out by canoe and small boat alongside the river barges and transfer goods on the move.
Most waterway routes do not operate to regular schedules. It is common for an operator to moor a barge at a riverside town and collect freight and passengers over a period of weeks before hiring a river tug to tow or push the barge to its destination.
Lake Edward: located within national parks, settlements are small, water transport is conducted principally in small craft, commercial water transport is absent.
Domestic links via inland waterways
The middle Congo River and its tributaries from the east are the principal domestic waterways in the DRC. The two principal river routes are:
Kinshasa to Mbandaka and Kisangani on the River Congo
Due to the lack of roads, operating railroads and ferry transportation many people traveling around the country fly on aircraft.[11] As of 2016 the country does not have an international passenger airline and relies on foreign-based airlines for international connections. Congo Airways provides domestic flights and are based at Kinshasa's N'djili Airport which serves as the country's main international airport. Lubumbashi International Airport in the country's south-east is also serviced by several international airlines.
Airports - with paved runways
total: 24 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 205 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 91 (2002 est.)
Transport safety and incidents
All air carriers certified by the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been banned from operating at airports in the European Community by the European Commission because of inadequate safety standards.[12]
2008 Hewa Bora Airways crash - April 15 plane crash killed at least 18 people after taking off from the Goma International Airport, tearing the roofs off houses as it plowed through a densely populated marketplace near the runway.[13]
2007
August 1 train derailment killed 100, many riding on roof.
Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, 148 km (92 mi) from the mouth and 8 km (5.0 mi) below the last navigable point before the rapids that make the river impassable for a long stretch upriver.
Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu Province and as of 2012 it had an estimated population of 806,940.
The Kinshasa Highway is an informal name for a route across the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Uganda and beyond, consisting of paved highways in some places and seasonally impassable tracks in others. The name has gained currency for the role which long-distance truck drivers played in the early spread of AIDS in the 1980s. Although there is a paved road from Kinshasa to Kikwit and a little beyond, and there are paved roads between Kisangani, Bukavu, Kampala and Nairobi, there has never been a paved highway across the centre of the Congo joining Kinshasa and Kikwit to Bukavu. Neither is there any coordinating authority for a 'Kinshasa Highway' or 'Autoroute de Kinshasa'.
Bravo Air Congo was an airline based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo operating domestic and regional passenger services. Its main base was N'djili Airport.
Kalemie, formerly Albertville or Albertstad, is a city on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Lukuga River, that drains Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River, runs through the city. Kalemie is the capital of Tanganyika Province.
The Société Nationale des chemins de fer du Congo is the national railway company for the inland railways of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Kindu is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the capital of Maniema province. It has a population of about 200,000 and is situated on the Lualaba River at an altitude of about 500 metres, and is about 400 km west of Bukavu.
The Société Commerciale des Transports et des Ports, formerly known as the Office d'Exploitation des Transports Coloniaux 1935–1959, then Office d'Exploitation des Transports au Congo 1960–1970, and Office National des Transports 1971–2011, is a state-owned enterprise headquartered in Kinshasa. The SCTP operates railways, ports, and inland barge transport in the northern and western regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along the Congo River. Established in 1935, its main office is strategically situated on Boulevard Du 30 Juin in the Gombe commune of Kinshasa.
Articles related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo include:
Rail transport is provided in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Congo (SNCC), the Société commerciale des transports et des ports (SCTP) (previously Office National des Transports until 2011), and the Office des Chemins de fer des Ueles (CFU).
The Coupe du Congo is the top knockout tournament of the Congolese football. It was created in 1961.
The Lagos–Mombasa Highway or TAH 8 is Trans-African Highway 8 and is the principal road route between West and East Africa. It has a length of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) and is contiguous with the Dakar-Lagos Highway with which it will form the longest east-west crossing of the continent for a total distance of 10,269 km (6,381 mi). Its main importance at the moment is connecting West Africa with Southern Africa via Yaoundé and Gabon because the section through the Democratic Republic of the Congo is unpaved and difficult.
Radio Okapi is a radio network that operates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On an annual budget of USD$4.5 million, a staff of 200 provide news and information to the entire urban population of the DRC. Radio Okapi provides programming in French and in the four national languages of Congo: Lingala, Kituba, Swahili and Tshiluba,
Mass media in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are nationally and internationally state-owned and operated.
Trust Merchant Bank or TMB, is a commercial bank based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with its headquarters located in Lubumbashi. The bank began operations in 2004. TMB operates in all sectors of the local banking market, including in retail banking, SME banking, corporate banking, and mobile banking.
The Congolese Rally for Democracy, also known as the Rally for Congolese Democracy, is a political party and a former rebel group that operated in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was supported by the government of Rwanda, and was a major armed faction in the Second Congo War (1998-2003). It became a social liberal political party in 2003.
↑ The figures are obtained by dividing the population figures in the Wikipedia country articles by the paved roads figure in the 'Transport in [country]' articles.
↑ Measured on Google Earth which has high-resolution aerial photos of Kinshasa at coordinates -4.2978 15.3171, showing hundreds of barges and vessels, many apparently derelict ones choking some wharfs.
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