Transport in Cameroon
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[edit] Railways
Railways in Cameroon are operated by Camrail, a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré. As of 1995, the country had an estimated 1,104 km of 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in) gauge track. In 2007, the traffic on the line was estimated to be 1MT per year freight, including 1 million passengers per year.[1]
[edit] Railway links with adjacent countries
Nigeria - no - break-of-gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in)/1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Chad - none; the country has no railways, although there have been some proposals.
Gabon - no - break-of-gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in)/1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in)
Republic of the Congo - no - break-of-gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in)/1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Equatorial Guinea - no - no railways
[edit] Timeline
[edit] 2009
[edit] 2008
- iron ore line from Mbalam to port of Lolabé[citation needed], about 490 km.
[edit] 2007
- branch from Edéa to Kribi ( about 130 km ) for Aluminium export.[3][1] This branch would almost link the existing railways with the Sundance Iron Railway, albeit on different gauges.
- Sundance Resources iron ore project
[edit] 2006
- 150 km/h CONTAINER TRAINS FOR AFRICA - At the inauguration of his second term, President Ismael Omer Guelle of Djibouti appealed for a 6,000 km landbridge rail line linking his country's Gulf of Tadjourah to Cameroon on the Gulf of Guinea. Estimated to cost $US6 billion, the line would run through the Sudan and the Central Africa Republic. Neighbouring landlocked countries such as southern Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi would all benefit from improved facilities for import and export traffic, as well as Chad. Pointing out that the trade development, peace and economy of the African continent could be considerably enhanced, Guelle suggested that the project forms part of the investment programme proposed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the G8 meeting in Scotland.
"It will take only 48 hours to transport goods between the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean using a double-stack container carrying express train at an average speed of 150 km/h".
- NIGERIA WANTS LINK WITH CAMEROON - Stormy talks have characterised attempts to implement the October 2002 decision by the International Court of Justice at The Hague, declaring Cameroon owner of the prized oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula. Nigeria has now demanded a rail link with Cameroon.[4]
[edit] Maps
[edit] Towns served by rail
[edit] Existing
- Douala - port
- Edéa - river crossing Sanaga River
- Mésondo
- Eséka
- Nkongsamba - railhead in northwest
- Kumba - branch terminus in west
[edit] Proposed
- There are plans to extend from Mbalmayo to Bangui in the Central African Republic.
There are also plans for an iron ore railway, which however might be isolated from existing railways. The distance from the mine to the nearest likely port is about 500 km as the crow flies. A connection to the nearest Camrail line at Mbalmayo on the Nyong River would be 350 km long. Because of the heavy tonnages to be carried, this railway is likely to be 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in) (standard gauge). The railway is being designed with Quantm software.
- Kribi - possible port for iron ore, in addition to existing port for oil from Chad.
- Grand Batanga - possible port for iron ore.
- Lolabe - possible port
- Mbalam - iron ore mines
[edit] Closed
[edit] Highways
Total highways: 34,300 km
Paved: 4,288 km
Unpaved: 30,012 km (1995 est.)
Cameroon lies at a key point in the Trans-African Highway network, with three routes crossing its territory:
- Dakar-N'Djamena Highway, connecting just over the Cameroon border with the N'Djamena-Djibouti Highway
- Lagos-Mombasa Highway
- Tripoli-Cape Town Highway
Cameroon's central location in the network means that efforts to close the gaps which exist in the network across Central Africa rely on the Cameroon's participation in maintaining the network, and the network has the potential to have a profound influence on Cameroon's regional trade. It is likely for instance that within a decade a great deal of trade between West Africa and Southern Africa will be moving on the network through Yaoundé.
Prices of petrol rose steadily in 2007 and 2008, leading to a transport union strike in Douala on 25 February 2008. The strike quickly escalated into violent protests and spread to other major cities. The uprising finally subsided on 29 February.[5]
[edit] Waterways
2,090 km; of decreasing importance. Includes the Benue river.
[edit] Seaports and harbors
Of the operating maritime ports in Cameroon, Douala is the busiest and most important. Lesser ports include Kribi, used chiefly for the export of wood, and Limbé, used only for palm-oil exports. Garoua, on the Benoué River, is the main river port, but it is active only from July to September. In 2005, Cameroon’s merchant fleet consisted of one petroleum tanker, totalling 169,593 GRT.
- Douala - main port, railhead, and second largest city.
- Bonaberi - railhead to northwest
- Garoua
- Kribi - oil pipeline from Chad
- Kribi South - proposed iron ore export port, about 40 km south of Kribi.
- Tiko
[edit] Airports
The main international airport is the Douala International Airport. Secondary international airports are at Yaoundé and Garoua. In total, there were 47 airports in 2004, only 11 of which had paved runways as of 2005. Cameroon Airlines, which went into operation 1 November 1971, flies to Paris, London, Frankfurt, Brussels, and many African cities; it also operates all scheduled domestic flights. In 2003, about 315,000 passengers were carried on domestic and international flights. Cameroon Airlines is jointly owned by the government and Air France. Among the other airlines serving Cameroon are Pan Am, Air Afrique, Alitalia, Swissair, Iberia, Air Zaire, Air Mali, and Nigeria Airways.
[edit] Airports - with paved runways
total: 11
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)
[edit] Airports - with unpaved runways
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Transport in Cameroon |
total: 39
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 11 (1999 est.)
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/37/2/36735844.pdf
- ^ http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page674?oid=81960&sn=Detail
- ^ http://allafrica.com/stories/200707110899.html
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Nkemngu, Martin A. (11 March 2008). "Facts and Figures of the Tragic Protests", Cameroon Tribune. Accessed 12 March 2008.
[edit] See also
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.
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