Transport in Gabon

Modes oftransportinGabonincluderail,road,water,andair.The one rail link, theTrans-Gabon Railway,connects the port ofOwendowith the inland town ofFranceville.While most of the country is connected by roads, not all areas are accessible. Much of the road network remains unpaved, and it primarily revolves around seven "national routes" labeled N1 through N7. The largestseaportsarePort-Gentiland the newer Owendo, and 1,600 km of inland waterways arenavigable.There arethree international airports,eight other paved airports, and over 40 with unpaved runways. Nearly 300 km ofpipelinescarrypetroleumproducts, mainly crude oil.

Rail transport

Until the 1970s, Gabon had no permanent railroads, though temporary Decauville rail tracks were in use in the logging industry as early as 1913 (Gray and Ngolet, 1999, pp.102).

In 2003, the railway began the process of installing a satellite based telecommunications system.As of 2004, Gabon State Railways totalled 814 km of standard-gauge track.

total:814 km (Gabon State Railwaysor OCTRA)
standard gauge:814 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994)

Maps

• UN Map - shows line to Franceville
• UNHCR map - does not show line to Franceville
• TravelPortal map - shows major rivers
• UNJLC Rail map of Southern Africa - does not show line to Franceville

Cities served by rail

Main article:Railway stations in Gabon

Existing

• Libreville- capital
• Owendo- port
• Sahoué- port
• Franceville-railhead
• Ndjolé
• Lopé
• Booué- likely junction for branchline toMakokou
• Lastoursville
• Moanda
• Ntoum- proposed junction for iron ore traffic toSanta Clara
• Kango
• Four-Place
• Mounana-?

Proposed

• Makokou- iron ore
• Cape Santa Clara- proposeddeep water portforMakokouiron ore.
• Bélinga- possible iron ore mine.

2006

• China signs a deal for an iron ore mine with associated rail and port upgrades fromBelingatoSanta Clara[1]

[2]

2007

• New rail line from Belinga will go 450 km all the way to the coast, rather than to be a branch off an existing line.
• Pan-African issues

Road transport

total: 7,670 km
paved: 629 km (including 30 km of expressways)
unpaved: 7,041 km (1996 est.)

Roads in Gabon link most areas of the country, and many of the main roads are of a reasonable standard. However, remoter areas along the coast and in the east are often not connected to the road network. Major roads are denoted national routes and numbered, with a prefix "N" (sometimes "RN" ):

• N1 road:Libreville–Kougouleu–Bifoun–Lambaréné–Mouila–Ndendé–Tchibanga- (Republic of Congo)
• N2 road:Bifoun–Alembe–Viate–Mitzic–Bibasse–Oyem–Bitam–Éboro– (Cameroon)
• N3 road:Alembe–Kazamabika–Lastoursville–Moanda–Franceville
• N4 road:Viate–Ekonlong–Makokou–Mékambo
• N5 road:Kougouleu–Bibasse
• N6 road:Mayumba–Tchibanga–Ndendé–Lébamba-Koulamoutou–Lastoursville
• N7 road:Makokou–Bakwaka–Okondja–Lékori-Akiéni–Ngouoni–Franceville

Water transport

Merchant marine

As of 2002, there was one merchant marine vessel, with a gross tonnage of 2,419/3,205 tonnesdeadweight(DWT).

Waterways

Gabon has 1,600 km of perennially navigable waterways, including 310 km on theOgooué River.

Air transport

There are three international airports:Libreville,Port-Gentil,andFranceville.

Airports - with paved runways

total: 11
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 16
under 914 m: 25 (1999 est.)

Pipelines

Crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km

See also

• COMILOG Cableway

References

This article incorporatespublic domain materialfromThe World Factbook.CIA.