Transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Transport and Logistics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Master in Business in Africa)

The Land transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Central Africa) has always been difficult. The terrain and climate of the Congo Basin are serious obstacles for Road and Railway construction; the distances are enormous in this vast country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has thousands of kilometres of waterways and, traditionally, the water transport has been the main transport mode in two-thirds of the Congo.

The «National Congolese Route» is used to transport goods to Bukavu from the Port of Matadi, consists of:

1. Matadi - Kinshasa - railway
2. Kinshasa - Kisangani - riverboat
3. Kisangani - Ubundu - railway
4. Ubundu - Kindu - riverboat
5. Kindu - Kalemie - railway
6. Kalemie - Kalundu (Lake Port in Uvira) - boat on Lake Tanganyika
7. Kalundu - Bukavu - road

Certain parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are more accessible from neighbouring countries than from Kinshasa.

1. For example, Bukavu, Goma and other north-west cities are connected by paved road from the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the Port of Mombasa in Kenya.
2. Lubumbashi and the rest of Katanga province are linked to Zambia

Dolisie (Republic of the Congo, Niari department): 140 kilometres north-west of the border (Central Kongo)

Roads to Rwanda:

1. National Route (Rwanda) 3b: Butare (Lake Kivu, border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, route to Bukavu)
2. National Route (Rwanda) 4: Kigali (Lake Kivu, border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, route in Goma)

Seaports

1. Port of Matadi is the largest port, and the start line for the railway to Kinshasa
2. The second largest port is Boma
3. Port of Banana (Atlantic Ocean), oil terminal, a pipeline to Kinshasa
4. Provinces of the South of the Congo: Port of Walvis Bay (Namibia, Trans-Caprivi corridor)
5. Eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Port of Mombasa (Kenya)

Other nearby ports:

1. Angola (Cabinda):
   1. Port of Luanda
   2. Port of Lobito - Katanga Railway
2. Republic of the Congo: Port of Pointe-Noire
3. Mozambique: Port of Beira (Lubumbashi, 1,600 kilometres)
4. Tanzania: Port of Dar es Salaam

Distance from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa: 2,288 kilometres (36 hours)

Road network is divided into four categories (national roads, priority regional roads, regional secondary roads and local roads). The two main roads are:

1. National Road No. 1 that connects the Atlantic seaports with Kinshasa and South-East of Katanga, the most important economic zone of the country due to its copper mines
2. National Road n. ° 2, Kisangani-Bukavu-Goma, which links the main river systems of the country, namely Kinshasa-Kisangani on the Congo River and the Lake Kivu and Lake Tanganyika systems on the eastern end of the Congo.

African Transport Corridors.

Three roads of the trans-African road network cross the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

1. Tripoli-Windhoek Corridor: this route crosses the western end of the Congo on National Road No. 1 between Kinshasa and Matadi, at a distance of 285 kilometres, is one of the only paved sections in good condition
2. Lagos-Mombasa Corridor: the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the main stretch to finish this road
3. Beira-Lobito Corridor: this east-west route crosses Katanga, but needs a major reconstruction:

Others corridors:

1. Lobito Corridor
2. Northern Corridor
3. North-South Corridor
4. Central Corridor

Rail transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is managed by the National Society of the Congolese Railways (SNCC). All railway lines are not connected but are generally connected by river transport.

Congo River (4,700 kilometres)

1. Kinshasa is the largest African River port
2. Kinshasa-Kisangani route of 1,000 kilometres on the Congo River is the longest and most used
3. Malebo Pool (Kinshasa and Brazzaville)
4. Congo Basin: 3,700,000 square kilometres
5. Source of the Congo: Lwalaba (Katanga)
6. Tributaries: Oubangui and Kasaï
7. Kinshasa and other river ports on the Ubangui River Bangui (Central African Republic)
8. Rubber and Bukavu on Lake Kivu in Gisenyi, Kibuye and Cyangugu in Rwanda.
9. Kalemie, Kulundu-Uvira and Moba on Lake Tanganyika in Kigoma (Tanzania), Bujumbura (Burundi) and Mpulungu (Zambia).
10. Kasenga and Pweto on the network of the Luapula-Lake Mweru River in Nchelenge, Kashikishi and Kashiba in Zambia.

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More information: Business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at EENI Website.

1. Universities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2. History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Albert Bialufu Ngandu: EENI Professor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Transporte en la República Democrática del Congo Transport en République démocratique du Congo Transporte na República Democrática do Congo

(c) EENI Global Business School (Africa) Due to the COVID Pandemic, EENI has implemented teleworking. Please only contact by email, WahtsApp or through the information request form
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