Cape Verde - Infrastructure, power, and communications

While the infrastructure of Cape Verde is adequate, the government is committed to improving its ports and roads. About 600 kilometers (373 miles) of the 2,250 kilometers (1,398 miles) of roads are paved. The irregularity of maritime transport has hindered exports, but the government has tried to set up regular links to Africa and Europe. There are regular ferry services between most islands, and the main port is the newly enlarged Porto Grande in Mindelo. Praia port has recently been modernized, and a new port to the north of the capital is under construction.

The main international airport on Sal Island handles some 300,000 passengers per year. The national airline, TACV, has several international routes to Africa, Europe, and the United States, as well as providing domestic flights. A new international airport has been opened near the capital on Santiago Island.

Since Portugal Telecom acquired a 40 percent share of Cabo Verde Telecom in 1995, it has increased the number of telephone lines by 70 percent and also has provided fiber optic links between the islands, as well as Internet access. It was estimated that the nation had 45,644 telephone main lines in use in 2000. In 1998 Telemovel became the country's first cellular network. Portugal Telecom pledged $100 million for the modernization of telecommunications up until 2001.

There are only 2 weekly papers published in Cape Verde; one is state-owned and the other is run by the opposition. State television and radio merged in 1997 to form the new RTC company, and in 1998 the government allowed the resumption of private radio broadcasts. RTPi and Canal France International began broadcasting 24-hour television and radio in 1995.

Communications
Country	Telephones a	Telephones, Mobile/Cellular a	Radio Stations b	Radios a	TV Stations a	Televisions a	Internet Service Providers c	Internet Users c
Cape Verde	45,644 (2000)	19,729	AM 0; FM 11; shortwave 0	73,000	1	2,000	1	5,000
United States	194 M	69.209 M (1998)	AM 4,762; FM 5,542; shortwave 18	575 M	1,500	219 M	7,800	148 M
Nigeria	500,000 (2000)	26,700	AM 82; FM 35; shortwave 11	23.5 M	2 (1999)	6.9 M	11	100,000
Guinea-Bissau	8,000	N/A	AM 1; FM 2; shortwave 0	49,000	2	N/A	1	1,500
a Data is for 1997 unless otherwise noted.
b Data is for 1998 unless otherwise noted.
c Data is for 2000 unless otherwise noted.
SOURCE : CIA World Factbook 2001 [Online].

Cape Verde has no known oil or gas deposits and imports all it needs from Africa and Europe. The privatized Empresa Nacional de Combustives and Shell Cabo Verde distribute fixed-price fuel. The parastatal Electra (which went up for sale in February 1999) is the primary electricity provider. There are plans to develop the country's thermal capacity, and the government is seeking to improve access to electricity in rural areas. Total electricity production in 1999 reached 40 million kilowatt hours (kWh).