Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Despite other countries being able to conquer terrain and climate simila to that of the Congo Basin it is chronic economic mismanagement and internal conflict that has led to serious under-investment over many years.

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.

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.

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.

The Congolese government, the United Nations, aid organisations and large companies use air rather than ground transport to move personnel and freight.

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 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.

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 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 2694 km of paved highway in 2000.

Three routes in the Trans-African Highway network pass through DR Congo: The DRC has more navigable rivers and moves more passengers and goods by boat and ferry than any other country in Africa.

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.