Transport in Western Sahara

Transport in Western Sahara is very limited, mostly by sea, road and air.

Rail

Western Sahara has no freight or passenger service railways, with the exception of a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) section of the Mauritania Railway; which (since the closure of the Choum Tunnel), cuts across the extreme south-eastern corner of the territory.

Roads

There are only 6,200 kilometres (3,900 mi) of roads, of which 1,350 kilometres (840 mi) are metalled.

A small network of highways provide limited ground travel connections. N1 highway is a major roadway traversing along the Atlantic coastline of the country. There are a few roads in the north and only two roads in the south that branches off of N1.

All other roads are local ones in the various cities and towns.

Ports

Ports include:

• Ad Dakhla - small docking facility (Port Marchand Lassarga/Port-Îlot) located in a shelter bay south of the airport
• Cabo Bojador - small port with fishing boats store inland
• Laayoune (El Aaiun) - major deep water port facility; used by vessels carrying phosphate, large fishing vessels, military patrol boats, etc.

The longest conveyor belt in the world is 100 kilometres (62 mi) long, from the phosphate mines of Bu Craa to the coast south of Laayoune.

Airports

There are 6 airfields, 3 with paved runways and 3 unpaved surfaces, and one helipad (military in Cape Bojador). Hassan I Airport is an international airport, but the carriers at the airport connects only to regional destinations (to Morocco or the Canary Islands).

See also

• List of airports in Western Sahara

Source

• CIA World Factbook (2010).