Transport in Cameroon - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Railways

Railways in Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

are operated by Camrail

Camrail

Camrail is a company that has been granted a 20 year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway. This Cameroonian company is a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré. The railway has been operated by Comazar, a subsidiary of Bolloré, since 1999...

, a subsidiary

Subsidiary

A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...

of French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

investment group Bolloré

Bolloré

Bolloré is a French investment and industrial holding group headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. The company, a paper-energy-plantations-logistics conglomerate, employs 28,000 people around the world....

. As of 2008, the country had an estimated 987 km of gauge

Rail gauge

Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

track.
In 2007, the traffic on the line was estimated to be 1Mt per year freight, including 1 million passengers per year.

There are no rail links with neighbouring countries.

Roadways

Total highways: 50,000 km

Paved: 5,000 km

Unpaved: 45,000 km (2004)

Cameroon lies at a key point in the Trans-African Highway network

Trans-African Highway network

The Trans-African Highway network comprises transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , the African Development Bank , and the African Union in conjunction with regional international communities...

, with three routes crossing its territory:

Dakar-N'Djamena Highway
Trans-Sahelian Highway
The Trans-Sahelian Highway or Trans-Sahel Highway is a transnational highway project to pave, improve and ease border formalities on a highway route through the southern fringes of the Sahel region in West Africa between Dakar, Senegal in the west and Ndjamena, Chad, in the east...

, connecting just over the Cameroon border with the N'Djamena-Djibouti Highway
Ndjamena-Djibouti Highway
The Ndjamena-Djibouti Highway is Trans-African Highway 6 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , the African Development Bank , and the African Union, connecting the Sahelian region to the Indian Ocean port of Djibouti in the...
Lagos-Mombasa Highway
Lagos-Mombasa Highway
The Lagos-Mombasa Highway is Trans-African Highway 8 and is principal road route between West and East Africa...
Tripoli-Cape Town Highway
Tripoli-Cape Town Highway
The Tripoli – Cape Town Highway is Trans-African Highway 3 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , the African Development Bank , and the African Union...

Cameroon's central location in the network means that efforts to close the gaps which exist in the network across Central Africa rely on the Cameroon's participation in maintaining the network, and the network has the potential to have a profound influence on Cameroon's regional trade. Except for the several relatively good toll roads which connect major cities (all of them one-lane) roads are poorly maintained and subject to inclement weather, since only 10% of the roadways are tarred. It is likely for instance that within a decade, a great deal of trade between West Africa and Southern Africa will be moving on the network through Yaoundé.

Prices of petrol rose steadily in 2007 and 2008, leading to a transport union strike in Douala on 25 February 2008. The strike quickly escalated into violent protests

2008 Cameroonian anti-government protests

The 2008 Cameroon protests were a series of violent demonstrations in Cameroon's biggest cities that took place from 25 February to 29 February 2008. The protests followed on the heels of a strike by transport workers, who were opposing high fuel prices and poor working conditions...

and spread to other major cities. The uprising finally subsided on 29 February.

Waterways

2,090 km; of decreasing importance. Navigation mainly on the Benue river; limited during rainy season.

Seaports and harbors

Of the operating maritime ports in Cameroon, Douala

Douala

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...

is the busiest and most important. Lesser ports include Kribi

Kribi

-Location:The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of Douala, the loargest city in Cameroon and the busiest seaport in the country...

, used chiefly for the export of wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

, and Limbé, used only for palm-oil exports. Garoua

Garoua

Garoua is the capital of the North Province of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. The city had 235,996 inhabitants at the 2005 Census, and is an important river port.- Overview :...

, on the Benoué River, is the main river port, but it is active only from July to September. In 2005, Cameroon’s merchant fleet consisted of one petroleum tanker, totalling 169,593 GRT.

Douala
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...

- main port, railhead, and second largest city.
Bonaberi
Bonabéri
Bonabéri is a port in the Littoral Province of Cameroon. It is located on the western side of the harbour across the Wouri River from the larger port of Douala.- External links :* *...

- railhead
Railhead
The word railhead is a railway term with two distinct meanings, depending upon its context.Sometimes, particularly in the context of modern freight terminals, the word is used to denote a terminus of a railway line, especially if the line is not yet finished, or if the terminus interfaces with...

to northwest
Garoua
Garoua
Garoua is the capital of the North Province of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. The city had 235,996 inhabitants at the 2005 Census, and is an important river port.- Overview :...
Kribi
Kribi
-Location:The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of Douala, the loargest city in Cameroon and the busiest seaport in the country...

- oil pipeline from Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
- Kribi South - proposed iron ore export port, about 40 km south of Kribi
  Kribi
  -Location:The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of Douala, the loargest city in Cameroon and the busiest seaport in the country...
  
  .
Tiko
Tiko
Tiko, Originally called ‘Keka’ by the Bakweris, is a town and important port in the southwest region of Cameroon. The settlement grew as a market town for Duala fishermen, Bakweri farmers and hunters from Molyko, Bwenga, Bulu and Bokova...

Airports

The main international airport is the Douala International Airport

Douala International Airport

Douala International Airport is an international airport located 6 miles from Douala, the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province...

. Secondary international airports are at Yaoundé

Yaoundé

-Transportation:Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military. Railway lines run west to the port city of Douala and north to N'Gaoundéré. Many bus companies operate from the city; particularly in the Nsam and Mvan neighborhoods...

and Garoua

Garoua

Garoua is the capital of the North Province of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. The city had 235,996 inhabitants at the 2005 Census, and is an important river port.- Overview :...

. In total, there were 34 airports in 2008, only 10 of which had paved runways. Among the international airlines serving Cameroon are Alitalia, Swiss, Iberia and Air Mali

Air Mali

Air Mali, formerly Compagnie Aerienne du Mali , is an airline headquartered in Bamako, Mali, that was formed by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development through its subsidiary IPS, West Africa and the government of Mali in April 2005. Its inaugural flight was made on 7 June 2005 from Bamako to...

List of airports in Cameroon

Airports - with paved runways

total:
11

over 3,047 m:
2

2,438 to 3,047 m:
4

1,524 to 2,437 m:
3

914 to 1,523 m:
1 (2008)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total:
23

1,524 to 2,437 m:
4

914 to 1,523 m:
14

under 914 m:
6 (2008)