Bandundu

Bandundu
Bandundu Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 3°19′S 17°22′E
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Admin. division	Mai-Ndombe Province
Population (2009)
• Total	133,080

Bandundu, formerly known as Banningville or Banningstad, is a city in Bandundu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bandundu is the capital of Bandundu Province. It is located on the north bank of the Kwango River, just below the juncture of the Kwango and the Kwilu, 8 km upstream from the junction of the Kwango and the Kasai River. It is around 260 kilometres from Kinshasa by air, or about 400 km by road. As of 2009, Bandundu had an estimated population of 133,080.

Bandundu was once a significant river port, as it is the largest town on the river between Kinshasa and Kikwit. However, traffic on the Kasai and Kwango Rivers dropped dramatically as a result of the Second Congo War, and has yet to recover. Bandundu does have intermittent passenger and freight service to Kinshasa, Mushie and Kikwit. Since 2008, there is a car/truck ferry service running several times per day across the Kwango. An unpaved road, roughly 250 km long, runs from this point to the main (paved) highway between Kinshasa and Kikwit.

Bandundu has a small regional airport, with direct flights to Kinshasa.

Unlike many cities in the Congo, Bandundu has a fairly constant supply of electricity. However this has nothing to do with Inga-Shaba HVDC line, as this line has no intermediate terminals.

As a provincial capital, Bandundu has had a MONUC presence since 2004.

Sister cities

• Attert (Belgium)