Resource information
The Congo Basin is among the most poorly
served areas in terms of transport infrastructure in the
world, and it faces a challenging environment with dense
tropical forests crisscrossed by numerous rivers that
require construction of numerous bridges. Given such
complexities, constructing transport infrastructure as well
as properly maintaining it is certainly a key challenge for
the Congo Basin countries. Recent studies indicate that
investment required per kilometer of new roads is
substantially higher than in other regions of Sub-Saharan
Africa (SSA) and the same applies for maintenance. The
physical capital of transport infrastructure is deteriorated
in the Congo Basin. The ratio of classify roads in good and
fair conditions range from 25 percent in Republic of Congo
to 68 percent in the Central African Republic, which is
globally lower than the average for low-income countries
(LICs) and resource-rich countries. Other transportation
assets (railways and river system) are also limited: the
railway network is essentially a legacy of the colonial era
and mainly used for mineral transportation, while the river
system is basically only marginal.
