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Congo-Brazza |
TRANSPORT
Several projects have been started but a lot remains to be done
Following the 1997, 1998 and 1999 civil wars which brought death and destruction to many Congolese families, as well as to the country’s public and private infrastructures, the Government seems to have adopted the following slogan: «Don’t say too much and get on with major projects». Witness to that the multiple inauguration ceremonies taking place all the time, laying foundation stones for the building of ports, airports and roads. Big building sites are opened. These are either financed by the State or by private firms (ESCOM, SOCOFRAN, SGE, among others). As a result, there seems to be a return to a quasi-normal way of life, thus paving the way for the country’s socio-economic development. For instance, in the mainly forest northern regions, timber exploitation companies partly finance many businesses, because Congo is not receiving much help from multilateral sponsors for its reconstruction.
S.O.S. Congo’s roads
The Government has announced an ambitious road and airport repair programme. But because there’s no cash available for these projects. it’s invited both national and foreign donors to chip in with ready cash. However, donor agencies are still hesitating to help again. They prefer to wait until the Transitional Emergency Programme, approved in November 2000, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows some signs of being a success, thus allowing Congo-Brazzaville to benefit from the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Congo-Brazza hasn’t yet qualified for the HIPC, because it’s done nothing to set up a poverty reduction programme, asked for by donor agencies.
Mr Florent Ntsiba, Minister for Public Works and Equipment, says: «"Reconstruction" is not a mere slogan concocted for government propaganda or electoral purposes. We are not crawling to international donors, but we are appealing once again, to Congo’s transport operators.» He’s asked them to get back to work in Congo, because the main political condition they imposed, that of holding a National Dialogue, has been fulfilled by the Government.
Much of the country’s infrastructure, including bridges and roads, was damaged during the wars. Six bridges between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire were damaged, and to repair them cost a «trifling» six billion CFA francs. The same thing applies to roads. In the south, it has proved necessary as a priority, to re-build the Brazzaville-Kinkala-Matoumbou road (78 kms) as well as sections of the Ganga Lingolo-Lirizola and the Kinkala-Mindouli-Loutété roads. In the north, sections of the Obouya-Boundji-Ewo and Obouya-Owando roads. All this work is urgent, if complete wear and tear is to be prevented. These days, if you want to get anywhere, you’ve got to use four-wheel-drive vehicles. A normal one to two hour journey now takes anything from four to ten hours!
Reconstruction work in the Pool Region is estimated to cost 3.7 billion CFA francs. An experienced engineer with ESCOM, explains: «Something must be done about the numerous gullies which lie along the roads, as they are an on-going danger; tarmac has to be re-laid on sections of the road which are in a bad way; drainage programmes must be undertaken. The European Union is expected to undertake the overall reconstruction programme, once it gets cracking with its road projects in Congo».
Over and above the re-building of the highway linking Brazzaville to Kinkala and Linzolo, the Government continues to show it is serious about developing the country. In December 2000, President Nguesso inaugurated the 17 kms-long Pointe-Noire-Diosso section of highway. The road has been completely tarmacked thanks to financial help from AGIP-Congo. The project cost 5.74 billion CFA francs. In May 2001, work started at Lékéty (West Cuvette region) and at Obouya (Central Cuvette Region, in north Congo), to build the road from Lékéty to Okoyo (Congo-Brazzaville) and to Léconi (in Gabon). This road (60 kms) will be tarmacked. At the same time, on-going work continues on the Obouya-Boundji-Ewo highway (126 kms) and the Obouya-Owando highway (65 ms). This is all part of the rebuilding and widening of the National Highway 2 in the north, running from Brazzaville to Ouesso, via Owando (848 kms).
City Transport
Half the country’s population live in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, and here the number of cars is increasing all the time. But apart from some avenues which were rebuilt two years ago, roads are very bad. Traffic jams and accidents frequently occur. e.g. In Brazzaville, from January to May 2001, there were 406 accidents with 24 people killed.
The fact that roads are in an appalling state in Congo’s two major urban centres, slows down the circulation of people and goods. City transport is not much to write home about. Because of this situation, since 1999, the Government has given priority to providing low-price transport for people and goods and generally improving the public transport sector, in view of contributing to the country’s economic development.
The road network is poor in the urban centres but the situation’s not much better elsewhere. This is a major setback for farmers, stockbreeders, and indeed, all those in the agriculture industry, who can’t get their goods to market.
The authorities have made it clear they’re going to do something to improve the situation. They say that in Brazzaville, the Marien Ngouabi Avenue (3 km long) will be tarmacked. In view of this work, 37 plots of land have been expropriated at a total cost of 535 billion CFA francs. Still to be done: Rebuilding the Avenue de France at a cost of 800 million CFA francs. These projects will be financed by Brazzaville’s city council in charge of the projects, and the West African and Lebanese communities living in Brazzaville. (They have already contributed 160 million CFA francs). But a lot remains to be done in Brazzaville in spite of the complete renovation of the Avenue Orsy and Avenue Fulbert Youlou.
The Ports
On account of its geographical position, Congo-Brazza is described as a «transit country». Taking this into consideration, since 1999, the Government has started a huge programme to remove silt from Pointe-Noire’s harbour. This is costing about 9 million CFA francs. There’s not been much by way of change in the kind of port activities undertaken, except for an increase in traffic, in spite of the war situation.
To promote contacts between Congo-Brazza and other countries, the Government has decided to build a river port at Lékéty (West Cuvette). The project will take anything from 18-24 months to complete, at the end of which, Lékéty could become a special development zone in the north, as a transit point between the Franceville (Gabon)-Lékéty (Congo-Brazza) highway and the river network. A senior official with the Railways and the River Transport Authority says: «The project of building a port at Lékéty started because it is part and parcel of a sub-regional plan. Goods will arrive or be exported from Libreville (Gabon), with the facility of being loaded onto trains on the Libreville-Lékéty line (via Franceville). At Lékéty, they can be shipped on to boats on the Alima River (open to traffic throughout the year), which flows into the River Congo and thence south to Brazzaville.
Airports
Agostino Néto International Airport at Pointe-Noire is going to be renovated. Also, the Government is going to intensify its efforts to encourage air traffic, by constructing another international airport in the Plateau region, at Ollambo, 400 kms north of Brazzaville, at the cost of 37 billion CFA francs. Isidore Mvouba, Congo-Brazza’s Transport Minister, describes the project: «The Ollambo project is intended to open up the region and promote communications between the regions of the north. Also, to facilitate contacts between the various countries of the sub-region. The Ollambo and Dolisie Airport will serve as supply points as well as stopovers, in connection with the Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire Airports.
The building of the new airport is not unanimously welcomed by the Congolese people. Some think that as the country is just emerging from devastating wars, it is fortuitous to undertake such grandiose building projects. What is needed today, they say, is to rebuild destroyed structures and care for the people’s social needs. Others, however, think the project important for opening up the interior. «In one way or another», says a young student, «building modern airports is a palliative measure to alleviate our real problem — unemployment, so rife among young people. Because building new edifices, equals job creation».
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