Somalia - Transportation



Of 22,100 km (13,733 mi) of roads in Somalia in 2002, only 2,608 km (1,621 mi) were paved. A 1,054-km (655-mi) road constructed with Chinese financing and work crew participation, completed in 1978, tied together the northern and southern parts of the country for the first time. Motor vehicles in use in 1995 numbered 24,000, divided equally between passenger cars and commercial vehicles. There are no railways and no commercial water transport facilities.

The ports of Mogadishu, Chisimayu, and Berbera are served by vessels from many parts of the world, as well as by Somali and Arab dhows. Mogadishu in recent years handled more than 70% of Somalia's export and import traffic. In 1995, the state-owned shipping line operated two oceangoing vessels totaling 5,529 GRT. However, by 2002 no merchant marine existed.

In 2001, there were 54 airports, 6 of which had paved runways. The major airfields are in Mogadishu and Berbera. International air service has been provided by the state-owned Somali Airlines (among other carriers), which also has regular flights connecting Mogadishu with regional centers and with Kenya, Djibouti, Sa'udi Arabia, the Comoros, Yemen, the Persian Gulf states, Frankfurt, Cairo, and Rome.

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