Development projects despite challenges – 2024-07-20 01:00:43 – 2024-07-20 01:00:44

As part of the publication on the States General of Transport, newspaper No. 617 of Friday, July 12, 2024 published the persistent weaknesses in the transport sector. In issue 618, Burundi Eco continues to explore this issue by focusing on the corridors intended to serve the country as well as on development projects in this area.

“For foreign trade, the country mainly uses three corridors: the Central Corridor, the Northern Corridor and the Southern Corridor,” said Consolateur Nitunga, advisor to the General Directorate of Transport, during his presentation on strategies for improving planning and management of the transport sector, based on a diagnostic study.

Mr. Nitunga explains that the Northern Corridor mainly favours the road route, linking Bujumbura to Kigali, Kampala and Nairobi. As for the Central Corridor, it comprises two major routes: a road route passing through Bujumbura, Kobero, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam, as well as a lake-rail or lake-road combination via Bujumbura, Kigoma, Tabora and Dar-Es-Salaam.

“The country also relies on the Southern Corridor (Bujumbura-Mpulungu-Durban) using lake, rail or road routes,” he adds.

The Central Corridor is in greater demand

The Central Corridor, the busiest, is crucial for Burundi’s international trade, with 80% of trade passing through it via the port of Dar es Salaam.

“The cost of transport by rail and lake is about 40% lower than that applied by road,” Mr. Nitunga emphasizes.

He announced that a financing of 600 million USD from the World Bank (WB) has been allocated for the development of multimodal infrastructure of the Central Corridor.

Of this sum, he insists, USD 500 million is earmarked for the rehabilitation and construction of ports along Lake Tanganyika, including Mpulungu, Kalemie, Kigoma, Rumonge and Bujumbura, as well as for the modernization of roads. The balance is devoted to the protection of Lake Tanganyika.

Priority given to projects to boost traffic

Mr. Nitunga informs that the projects chosen for the development of transport include the extension and modernization of the port of Bujumbura as well as the construction of the port of Rumonge.

Efforts are not limited to ports, as evidenced by the rehabilitation of the Bujumbura-Rumonge (78 km), Bujumbura-Mugere (20 km) and Rumonge-Nyanza lac (45 km) international road sections. The construction of a bridge over the Rusizi River, the Cankuzo-Gahumo road linking Tanzania to Burundi, the development of a one-stop border post (PFAU) on the Mugina-Manyovu road axis, the installation of one-stop cross-border posts in Gatumba and Mugina, as well as the construction of a bus station south of Bujumbura, are also among the priorities.

Despite efforts to boost the transport sector, paid transport of goods and people still faces many challenges. In downtown Bujumbura, passengers often have to make do with walking or taking a shared taxi in precarious conditions, while the cost of travel is increasing. This comes at a time when the area of ​​activity of bicycle taxis, motorcycle taxis and tuk-tuks has been limited to downtown Bujumbura. These difficulties are also evident for transport within the country.

Despite the difficulties of travel, road accidents remain a sad reality. This involves the efforts of the Burundi Red Cross. Initiatives such as the implementation of an electric vehicle project are still ongoing.