Kalemie

Location of Kalemie in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kalemie, formerly Albertville/Albertstad, is a town on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The town is next to the exit of the Lukuga River flowing out from Lake Tanganyika to the Lualaba River.

Kalemie Port

The port at Kalemie was built to connect the Great Lakes rail line (from the Kalabo junction on the Lualaba River) to the Tanzanian lake port and railhead at Kigoma, from where the Tanzanian Central Railway Line runs to the seaport of Dar es Salaam. The port was built with a 130 m wharf and 3 mobile cranes, giving it a capacity of 500 tonnes per day with two shifts. However, the cranes are non functional, and vessels cannot reach the wharf due to silting up of the lake next to it. The buildings of the port also require rehabilitation. Moreover, the railway line for 100 km west of Kalemie is 'very degraded' and not fully operational.

Kalemie Port is also used by boat services to the northern Lake Tanganyika ports of Kalundu-Uvira and Bujumbura in Burundi, and southwards to Moba and Mpulungu in Zambia.

Kalemie Port is operated by the railway company SNCC which also operates the railways in DR Congo (except for the Matadi-Kinshasa line) as well as boat services on the eastern waterways in the country.

2005 earthquake

The Lake Tanganyika earthquake struck on December 5, 2005. The epicentre was approximately 10 km (6 miles) below the surface of Lake Tanganyika, some 55km south-east of Kalemie. At least dozens of houses were destroyed.

Twinning

Kalemie's important twin town is Steinheim in Germany.

See also

• Transport in DR Congo

References

• Tim Butcher: Blood River - A Journey To Africa's Broken Heart, 2007. ISBN 0-701-17981-3

5°56′S 29°12′E