Transport in Eritrea
Encyclopedia
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
.
Railways
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
) rail line in Eritrea. The railway links Agordat
Agordat
Agordat is a city in Eritrea. It was the former capital of the now defunct Barka Province of Eritrea .- Overview :...
and Asmara
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...
with the port of Massawa
Massawa
Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋዕ , formerly ባጽዕ is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Axumite Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate,...
; however, it was nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 kilometre stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994. Rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock has occurred in recent years. By 2003 the line had been restored from Massawa all the way through to Asmara.
Railway links with adjacent countries
DjiboutiTransport in Djibouti
- Highways :total:2,890 kmpaved:364 kmunpaved:2,526 km Major roads include N1 west from Djibouti 246 km via Ouê'a and Mouloud to Dikhil, then north via Yoboki to Ethiopia, designated part of the Ndjamena-Djibouti Trans-Africa Highway 6;...
- no - break of gauge - / Ethiopia
Transport in Ethiopia
Transportation infrastructure in Ethiopia has been neglected for decades, but is now a priority of the government of Ethiopia. Most of the roads and railways are now under construction, and will be completed between 2011 and 2014...
- no - break of gauge - / Sudan
Transport in Sudan
Transport in Sudan during the early 1990s included an extensive railroad system that served the more important populated areas except in the far south, a meager road network , a natural inland waterway—the Nile River and its tributaries—and a national airline that provided both...
- no - break of gauge - / - defunct Yemen
Transport in Yemen
As a direct consequence of the country’s poverty, Yemen compares unfavorably with its Middle Eastern neighbors in terms of transportation infrastructure and communications network. Roads are generally poor, although several projects are planned to upgrade the system...
- no - via proposed Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
bridge (Bridge of the Horns) - break of gauge - / - via Djibouti
Transport in Djibouti
- Highways :total:2,890 kmpaved:364 kmunpaved:2,526 km Major roads include N1 west from Djibouti 246 km via Ouê'a and Mouloud to Dikhil, then north via Yoboki to Ethiopia, designated part of the Ndjamena-Djibouti Trans-Africa Highway 6;...
Highways
The Eritrean highway system is named according to the road classification. The three levels of classification are: primary (P), secondary (S), and tertiary (T). The lowest level road is tertiary and serves local interests. Typically they are improved earth roads which are occasionally paved. During the wet seasons these roads typically become impassable. The next higher level road is a secondary road and typically is a single-layered asphalt road that connects districtDistricts of Eritrea
The regions of Eritrea are divided into districts, as follows:-Anseba Region:* Adi Tekelezan* Asmat* Elabered* Geleb* Hagaz* Halhal* Habero* Keren City* Kerkebet* Sela-Central Region:* Berikh* Ghala Nefhi* North Eastern* Serejaka...
capitals together and those to the regional capitals. Roads that are considered primary roads are those that are fully asphalted (throughout their entire length) and in general they carry traffic between all the major towns in Eritrea.
| Title | Start point | Intermediate point | End point | Road type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-1 | Asmara Asmara Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people... |
Ghinda Ghinda Ghinda is a town in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea. It lies between Asmara and Massawa.-Overview:Ghinda is a major fruit and vegetable growing area and a centre for Tigre Muslims. It lies near the springs of Sabarguma... |
Massawa Massawa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋዕ , formerly ባጽዕ is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Axumite Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate,... |
Asphalt |
| P-2 | Asmara Asmara Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people... |
Adi Tekelezan Adi Tekelezan Adi Tekelezan is a small town in the Anseba region of Eritrea. It is located on the route between Asmara and Keren. It is a thriving commercial center in Eritrea with a population estimated at 4,000.... |
Keren Keren, Eritrea Keren is the second largest city in Eritrea. It is situated about 91 kilometers northwest of Asmara. The town serves as the capital of the Anseba region, and is home to the Bilen ethnic group.-History:... |
Asphalt |
| P-3 | Asmara Asmara Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people... |
Adi Keyh Adi Keyh Adi Keyh is a market town in Eritrea, lying approximatively 110 kilometers southeast of Asmara. It lies almost 2,500 metres above sea level and has a population of around 25,000 people... |
Senafe Senafe Senafe is a market town in southern Eritrea, on the edge of the Ethiopian highlands. The surrounding area is inhabited by the Saho people and the Tigrinya people.... |
Asphalt |
| P-4 | Asmara Asmara Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people... |
Mendefera Mendefera Mendefera , formerly Adi Ugri, is the capital of Zoba Debub in Eritrea. It is situated 54 kilometers south of the capital city Asmara. The name Mendefera derives from the high hill in the center of the city and is a source of pride to Eritreans... |
Mareb River Mareb River The Mareb River , is a river flowing out of central Eritrea. Its chief importance is defining part of the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia between the point where the Mai Ambassa enters the river at to the confluence of the Balasa with the Mareb at .According to the Statistical Abstract of... (border with Ethiopia) |
Asphalt |
| P-5 | Keren Keren, Eritrea Keren is the second largest city in Eritrea. It is situated about 91 kilometers northwest of Asmara. The town serves as the capital of the Anseba region, and is home to the Bilen ethnic group.-History:... |
Barentu Barentu, Eritrea Barentu is a town in south-western Eritrea, lying south of Agordat. It is mainly inhabited by the Nilotic Kunama people and Nara people. The Nara people leader Shekaray Agaba was the first to build the town umba arenku which it means the white water. It is located in the Gash-Barka Zone of... |
Tesseney | Asphalt |
| P-6 | Massawa Massawa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋዕ , formerly ባጽዕ is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Axumite Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate,... |
Tiyo Tiyo Tiyo or T'í'o is a coastal town in east-central Eritrea.-Overview:It is the capital of the Are'eta district in the Southern Red Sea region.... |
Asseb | Gravel |
| P-7 | Asseb | n/a | Bure Bure, Africa Bure is a small disputed area on the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, about 50 miles west of Asseb with a latitude and a longitude of . Eritrea considers Bure to be a part of its Southern Red Sea Zone, while Ethiopia considers Bure part of Administrative Zone 1 of its Afar Region... |
Asphalt |
| P-8 | Gahtelai Gahtelai Gahtelai is the name of a river, town and plain situated in the Northern Red Sea administrative region of Eritrea.It is not the correct meaning of Gahtelai written in Tigrinya.Because the word is of Saho "gahte" means is back and "lai" means water... |
Shebah Shebah Shebah is an agricultural settlement on the plains beneath and east of the eastern escarpment of the Eritrean highlands which forms part of the Northern Red Sea administrative region with its capital in Massawa... |
She'eb She'eb She'eb is a town in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea. It lies on the fertile plain at the foot of the eastern escarpment of the Eritrean highlands.-History:It was the site of a massacre during the Eritrean War of Independence... |
Asphalt |
| P-9 | Serejeqa Serejeqa Serejeqa is a town about 20 km northwest of Asmara on the asphalt road to Keren, which in turn lies roughly 75 km away. The town lies on the ridge of the Eritrean highlands and is the upper end-point of a gravel-road which traverses the eastern escarpments and has its other end-point in... |
n/a | Shebah Shebah Shebah is an agricultural settlement on the plains beneath and east of the eastern escarpment of the Eritrean highlands which forms part of the Northern Red Sea administrative region with its capital in Massawa... |
Gravel |
total:
4,010 km
paved:
874 km
unpaved:
3,136 km (1996 est.)
Merchant marine
total:5 ships (with a volume of or over) totaling /
ships by type:
bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
1, cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
1, liquefied gas
LNG carrier
An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas . As the LNG market grows rapidly, the fleet of LNG carriers continues to experience tremendous growth.-History:...
1, petroleum tanker
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
1, roll-on/roll-off ship 1 (1999 est.)
Airports
There are three international airports, one in the capital, Asmara International AirportAsmara International Airport
Asmara International Airport, formerly known as Yohannes IV International Airport is an airport in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.In 2004, the airport served 136,526 passengers ....
and the two others in the coastal cities, Massawa (Massawa International Airport
Massawa International Airport
Massawa International Airport, is an airport in Massawa, a major city in the Northern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. The airport, which features a single concrete runway, has received flights from local dignitaries and foreign leaders, including the President of Yemen and commercial operations...
) and Assab (Assab International Airport
Assab International Airport
Assab International Airport, is an airport in Assab, the capital of the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea....
). The airport in Asmara
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...
receives all international flights into the country as of March 2007, as well as being the main airport for domestic flights.
21 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
total:3
over 3,047 m:
2
2,438 to 3,047 m:
1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total:18
over 3,047 m:
2
2,438 to 3,047 m:
2
1,524 to 2,437 m:
6
914 to 1,523 m:
6
under 914 m:
2 (1999 est.)
Cableway
The Asmara-Massawa CablewayAsmara-Massawa Cableway
The Asmara-Massawa Cableway was built by the Italians in 1938 in Eritrea, with the work done by the Ceretti and Tanfani Italian engineering firm. It connected the port of Massawa with the city of Asmara and ran a distance of some 75 kilometres. It moved food, supplies and war materials for the...
, built by Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in the 1930s, connected the port of Massawa
Massawa
Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa Massawa, also known as Mitsiwa (Ge'ez ምጽዋዕ , formerly ባጽዕ is a city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. An important port for many centuries, it was ruled by a succession of polities, including the Axumite Empire, the Umayyad Caliphate,...
with the city of Asmara
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...
. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
later dismantled it during their eleven year occupation after defeating Italy in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
See also
- EritreaEritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...