Inland transport in the west African sub - region

'.~ '~. ' .~... '-"'!' ,~iiii..- I\' ,.;.

. ~~~ '~~'''''''-'''I. ,,~ .

, U ^NIT ED' . NAT ION S

ECONOMIC

ENGLISH

Original: FREN CH

ECbNOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA Economic Devel~pment Division

INLAND ,TRANSPOR'!' ~ THE'WEST AFRICAN SUE-REGION

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FlCN ,.~.4/TRANS/

17

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PREAMBLE'

,I ~ 1

-: .. ~For the purpose of this document the West African aub-z-egi.ori- compr-i.ses the 13 countries - Chad, Nigeria, Dahomey" Togo, Ohana., .... -' .

Ivor~ Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Upper Volta and, Niger - visited in 1963 by the'W'est African~Industrial Co-()rdina:.;..

ti~n

^MiSSion)! To these ehoul d . be added, ,for

the

sake of comple teneee , the two enclaved territories~ Pcr-tugue ae Gui ne

a

an~,:Gambia. ", ';; :.,~,,::.:'

• & ~•~

r~ The data used in drafting this docum~nt were either obtained from-\ civil servants in the countries

in,

~ue8tio~,or taken from.

reports of

official

services such as Railway ^companaea , Port.

Authori

ties, Navigati9n Services - Transport Services, Statistical Services, or

. .. • .. • I ' "

fro~ reports of Research Insti tutes', such

as'

the'-Societe dt

etudes -at

^J

-,,'

de d~veloppementeconomique et social, .the .Bureau ~ce~tra1 pour 'les"', "

equfpements

d'Outre-Mer, the

Stanford

R~~e~c~ ,Ins~~tute,

^the Netherlands

Engi~eering

Consultants, Balfour Beatty 'and Co. Ltd., and sO on.

n ~ ~ ^{. - . , .}: . : ' : - ,j~

~';In the main, the emphasis will be on facili ties capable

of

promot- ing international transport of general merchandize. Countries'

trans-

port facilities which are not Of ..~s~b-z:,~gional importance, air transport used mainly by passengers, marit~me transport, on which a special

~ ..,'..-- ^~.

document has been :prep~,e.!i,.and special transport suoh as p1pelin~B'''~"

will not therefore be d~8cu8sed. ':'

.l

The aim is 'not to propose _imm~diate solutions,for the studies _~

''f' .

on the

African

"oommon 'market and the establishment of industries are. l~

",

far from complete,

but

rather to draw attention to the difficulty of

tt

co-ordinating transport

and

to certain already foreseeable possipilities for the near

future.

We shall begin by reviewing some data on, and the development policies of, African countries and then discuss current developments

and future

prospects in transport with respect to traffic volume and infrastructure.

1.1 See document E/CN.14/246.

.

.

. , I " , IA

E/CN~14/~~!~1

_{. , . ._} . \" ..•':. .. \4 •'",i:.._

West,~frican Background

'• . ' . . . ·1 , - '

',1. :

Th~ i~i~i

^area'

^of ~T'est

^African

courit'r'ie~ ^{'( Table}

^{1) is "6,}

J5b'~obO~: ~.r:_'.!~:

km2, which in:1958 w~s ^peopled

bY·73

million'inhabit'ants', i.~~

an"average

density

of

^11.

^51Bllabi

tants per lan2.. AlJ. but

f,oU;I' -

Mali, Upper Volta, Niger'-

and

Chad. ., of the counnr-te svhave 2. -coustl rne and the cost 9l'.:!!?,~-~~t

transporting',imports and exports cons:ti 1iutes. .a heavy handd cap for, _~h~,~.'.,; '~:

:f.~~- ~xc~pt~o~~'~ Moreov:er~ the' classif.ication _'~f Chad ·~s a v~e,at,~~~~"~

co.unt~y.is s~mewha~ artif~cial for, dGpendir~ ~n the region involved,

~A~ rou~e~,

I. ^taken• ~

b~~ts ~~port~ ~d e~~orta'~,C~~~;66nian~~ute, t;~s-

^{. :} ~ ^{.. • •} ~ ,^{• • ... I,·} a . . • r •~. , / . , . . . : '~

equatorial route through the Congo and Oub~.ngui, Sudanese route and .

• • J . . • 16 .. • ' : • •-~• -~.r,

the Saharan. route - lie outside what :':.8 known as vIeat Africa.

T • ~." • . ' . I'. . . . .' .

.... ^-~

.The ,'SAHARA ,deser~t occupies' a large part of the "territori~~ of , .,.... .-_{" I .. ). ,} Mali'" Niger

and

Chad'., For an .ar-ea .of ~.~.

75:·

~mill:i.on

- .

)an2.:, ,or^... .

59'

per cerrt- ~

of West: A:rrica.l⁸ suz-f'aoe, these countr ie e number- qnly,

9,. (,

million.: .: .. , _ inhabi tante .oz- 1.3 per, cerrt ,'o~ tha to~:l.~ popul ata on ,wi th ~ ,average.

densi^ty of; 2 ..6 ,inhabi.'tants per km.2. 'T~e oih~r-c?W'ltries occ~py.' . . 2,60~fPOO·.km2(41 _p~r cent) _w~th a population of

63

million inhabitants

r - . ' . . . , ,- ' . ' .

(87 _pe~.cent) which gives an average density of 24'inhabitants per km2.

-, . 1 • • ' PoJ J" .. ~ • , " #• i . .

'For a

.total

area of'·1j332,.000 )~~12,- four :neighbouring count.r-Le s .bordering ·the; Bight of Benin - Nigeria,.· Dato_mey, Togo. and Ghana:"_{• .., 1} _ ! l, ':'"• • ,.~

number 45',2,-million inhabitants, or 62· per cent .of th~ ,total popul atd on, with- ari".average·density of '34 Lnhabat anta per·.km2

. , It should also be added-that if first reports' ·on t4e last C~nGU6 qf Nigeria in 196~.ane.

confirmed, that oountry ^{would. on} 'i.'~t) ^Ol1r.l nl;:.ffi-D~:L·

55.7

million, in$tead of 3501 million, inhabitants, or mor~. than half the popula~ion.of th~.

Bub-region, \'ri th an average density of 60 inhapi.tants

p~r

^{km2• .}

:. ";'es~ Africa's'gross domast ic product (qDP).·vTD.S US$ 6,j60~ million

·,·'in

,1958;

9f whi¢h ~igeria aco ounted 'for

use

2,740,..a.nd Ghana for, USS9~6.

;'Thefour.countrfes bordering the Bight o~ Henin, with 21,~e~ cent of vIest Af:riga:,s area and 62 per cent· of.its. populati0!l, .have a ·~ro~s

product of US$

3,958

mill~on or 60 .per cent. of the t.otal ,^{t ..}

, , , 1 " .

E/CN.14/

^T

RANSii7

Page 2 '

The gross domestic produot of t he :'ou:r landlocke'd. ooUntri~s·~'^{:wh{·6h .:}

.')

have:

a:

.surface area of 4.092.. mi.L'l. , il on •km"I and 14 million inhabi~ • •_t~ts

(19

per' cerrt ) , amounts . t,o US$

938,

miLl.Lon (or 14 pez- .cel?t).

, ~ ^'By

way of· comparison, Belgium, with

~l

^area

of

30_t

OOO. km

2 (4 par"

t'housand of

'-the

area of West Africa), hue ^;1' populat-ion' of ':9,000".000'<'" /:::"

inha

~it~~

^{s (12',per}

c'~n

^{t ) and a.} nat i anal incorne of US$

8, ooo mil ~'~~o~',~":

^.'

'whi'oh'.~~.,considerably higher than that of '?;he" whole" of U~st Africa.' It ^r.t~

.

^'

I

In _195~

the, p'er

c~put

'gross dome s ti c

p;~duct

^-i.raried

i~om 'USSl'99 '

in"the'

Iv:~r~

^,Coast

't~

^US$,

¹⁷⁹

^{in Senegai, ,}

TTS$' 158

in

Gh~a, ^US$122

^{in '}

• \ i .. : a ,I • • • • '. '.~^{.. •}J. ."~

Li beria and then fell to US$ 111 and _t:iS::~

1:5 ,in

^{Guinea and Mali and '}

below 100 in the other countries. Uppe:~ ^{VCl:"ta had} th~ l~~est per' caput' gross'domestio product, only USS

38

pur Ye!;J:.~. '. So ,far these 'ccuntz-a ee

J. . , ~ . ~ _ ,

have few industries, trade very Ii ttl'.: ,'Ti th each other' and, send, thei'r ^r exports, which consist mainly' of primar;l at:ricul tural Or lndustri:al products (groundnut's, palm kernels·,~ w~od) ::~6ffee; cocoa; cotton,,· " ' ...

bananas, :ironore, bauXite, aluminium), to countries overseas.

,\'1hile reoognizing the importance and .ieed of the

extra_Af~l{Q~i~;~;

.:. - J . &0,

market for primary pr-oduct.s., most \ofest .\.fr7_can courrtrLe s have ,-~'pt'ed for an 'econonuc development 'policy orie::lted '.'bd"rards industrialization with a 'view' to' s'atisfying the domestic .aar..ket , This policy is, 'however,

~impedea'by

the

smallness of national ma~kets; because in many:cases and for

many

'manufactures, the opti~um size of-modern productive ~it8 is- greater 'than the abe or-pt a on capacaty C'f a.'single countryt8 market. ."Thus ,

admitting, as a first' approximation, the p~oportionalityofmarkets to the gross domestic product" Belgium's market is greater than that· of the whole of West Africa.

:-~, PUrsu'i t of the 'establi'shed aim - ind.ustrialization'as' a meana of de~elopment .: therefore' prescribes inter-'·S:~aie co-operation

l.n

the sharing out ·'of· industries of sub-regional' im:pGr:~~.nce and the protection" of their market. The African countries, ei ther· indl vidually or throUgh the

Economic Commission' for Africa or the O:,:,ganiz~tion of African Unity,' ,

E/CN .14/TRANS/17 ..· ..

Page

3 . ',:'.

~

.' \,

have often affirmed their desire to advance'along these lines and numerous studies on the various .aspects of this ..pr obl em are being

. --_. .. .

prepared, including studies on a common market, a payments union, an African 'Development Bank, .the sub-regional co-ordinat.ioI). of deval

cp-

. . . .

" ment pl~s' and cer.tain _s:pec~fic industries such as, :the· iron and steel

~ industry and the chemical industry.

This desire and need.to _co-operat~

are

impeded, however, by certain definite diffiqulties: sOlI)e.regions are .fn.voured because large-soale industries p~efer to be established ne~ the largest markets in sO far as' the factors of product~on are ther~,availablein the same conditions as elsewhere. In this

respect,

the Be~in coast, with ,60 per oent of the market and an enviable position, for it is well-placed to receive raw materials from abroad,.is at an advantage in West Africa. The four landlocked oountries, on the other han~, are at a gr~at disadvantage because of their small markets, their ~istanoe from t~e sea and their communication difficul ties'-.;' The structure of the t~ansport network

ie.

suoh that it would often be more adyantageoua to tpese countries to import from abroad using traditiona~,meansof pen~tration rather than to buy from their neighbours. Improvement of the transport . system is th~refore essential to the establishment of a cpmmon market and to the '~~uitable distribution of the benefits of .~rowth between all> the countri:,es of West' A'frioa.·

' , ' I

'.'.'~

., -£.:,

I. The:'current transport systemJ

We

shal.l

therefore eXamine: _{, /}

... ~-j • • • .~ ,r

,~.: ~.' : " " • I '

II. African trade - ita development prospeots and e~fects on the transport system.

..

,.,

-~.... : . ' " j

.^:....^~.:'

...., ...

E/CN~14/TRANs/11·

.

Page

4 -'.

TABLE _I

Data' on West Africa. .

Area

(in, Population'

'Density

Country thousands ( 60) (in

I/km.

²

of 1on2 millions)

.' l I ~l :~ •&,.~;• • oi

1';284

Chad 2.'6 '2.2

Nigeria 923 35.1 38.0

, .

Dahomey 115 1.9

^,

.: 16.5

Togo 56

1.4

25~O'

"

Ghana 238 6.8 28.0

Ivory Coast 322 3.2

10~0

Liberia 111 1.3 ,11.-7

^s

Sierra Leone 72 2.5

34~6' '

Guinea 245 3.0

'12~2

Portuguese Guinea 36 ' 0.6

_16.6 ^{: ;}

Senegal 197 2.9 ,14.'1-,

Gambia

10 0.3 :

29'~0

..

Mali ^{' .}

1,204 .' 4.'1'

^..

' 3'.4'

Upper Volta ^{: ''} 274

4.4

^16".0'

Niger 1',267' 2.9 2.3

Total 6,354 73.0 11.'5

Mauritania

1,085

0.7 0.6

Cameroun 475 4.1,,...

..

8.6 '

CAR 617 1.2 1.9

Gabon 261 0.4 1.5

Congo

(Brazza. )

342 0.9 2.6

Equatorial Guinea 28 0.2 7.0

Total 2,814 7.5 ^2.6

Souroe: Document E/CN.14/IS/2

-

.

•

'" ^{4 • • "} ....

~'

GDP (58 ) GDP ( 58) (in millions in

US'S

of

US$)' , " per .head

·-,\',182 :

^;

70

. .

2,740 . ' . '18

:121,

: , 10:.

111 78 :

986 158,;

615 199.

153 .122

.. ,·154

,64

311 ,117,

37

',67:·

, 411 179

21 - 74

'428.',' 116

'159

^38-

:.169

^..:~.

60

6,598' 90

65' J.U~

,45~

. 114

135 114

^lit

" :

87 209

~.

'144' 185

^'\;,

887

120

.'

:CHAPTER I

CURRENT TRAliSPORT SYSTEM'

E/CN.l4/T~.S/lJ Page

5 " .

-, -.

... ^'.

Fir'st, acme data on mari_t~me

t

r ariapor-t , whi'ch is' ,the' subject' of ' another -documeht,. will be reviewe~

and

then inland waterWays, railways and- road transport' will·-be examined in turn: ,. ^{,~ ~.;.'}

Mari~ime transport Inland navigation _ Rail, .transport

t , . I - a ' l -, : or _ . . . . 1 ... ·.-

. Roadtr,an~por.t

~

~ULRITIME

TRANSPORT

..^_,::'.

/.. •~: ^{I • • " ." ' :} ,.:,~, l

"~\

As mari time transport is deal

t

wi thin a separate documenf only ~ ^".

. 'the" _bro~d outlines

of

the 'atibJec-t-w1.11 -ba menti(>tied"here~" .' '

Sierra Leona

. ;l:. '. '.. '...:;..""-=-••-: ".~""

railw~y. .

. . I' • •.i: ....~.: .,~.':: I ' · " , · · ' •.•

and Nigerian Railways.

. , • • :l . ' .~1~i.',";. :_ • :- • • ".~ • .'

• t .':~ • '

..Every "1est good'

'~~p 'wa't~r

Se~agal

Guinea Liberia Ghana Togo

.". .! .. ,,{ . . . .

Dahomey

. . i " , ' . . :I '•• . ) ': ••~ ^{. , ' : }}: ' . . ... ; ~.'

African maritime country:is equipped ~ith at least one

l ' . _ . ; i . . ' L • " •. I ' . ' . . : . , - - •~ ^{J . " ..}~^{:;" • • \.,-..}

port oonnect~d to the interior by a railways "

• I .0..^{J • c- : .}~^{" ) ,}.;,."..• •• ( ). " I,'" •,• . , ' l~· ^{• • • •:.},1: : :

-: Dakar and D~~~~N~g.~r.~railway.. , ^J ~J.-~.6. '!~^{••, ',' .}

Conakry and Conakry-Kankan railway . . ; :,":,J, .. .:J

Freetown and Sierra Leone Railways

:":4':.f.' .4.• ' ..-.~. ~; '".I^j

: Monrovia and Buchanan and mine

railways···_·,

Takoradi and Tema and'_dhanEl~' R:ailways .'.:

Lome (in ~~:U:l'_S,~j_...~ 1._.'of" _cop.s· i l •• -." tr.~p"tAP.nJ ,~~.._ _ • ••• _._ •• : _ _ .":' ^Tog'p..

Railways

. : . ' . . . i - ~. . ..: : . .' .

Cotonou and B~nin-Niger

,. :., .. J..~ • ... 4 ! ;. '.-" (~• •~ • •

Lagos and Port Harcourt

I ' . - , ; , . ,

.~e main. pr-obl.em is the cost of (maritime .tr.anspor;t',::which~ is,;...^{J• •J}

. _ ' . . • • J '" ' . . . .1 • .. - . J " . . . " . . • .. ,~. ^{. '}

excessi~~1;V h~gh•._ At ,its.. 6.ixth sessi~~".the Economi.c·'9o~Ass.i..9n"~f.qr:. "

Africa, in resolution E/CN .14/REE/I01(VI) viewed

"!li

th grav~,.concern the high freight rates oharged for

shipme~t· 6f·~·A .. ii'i·b~·:~~~-~~~·ea~1·~xports

and 'imports and coastaf 'trade-

by

^theWes't

AfriCal'i';'Lfne"s·.t,Cobferenbo"

~

..' .:~ ~...~

..

^..<;.:.

..

ElcN .14!TRANS/IT

Page 6

'Theoretical studies analyzingfthe'effective cost of maritime transport and th~ effect of terminal:·,~ha~ge6,'~r~, contemplated.

Provision is also being made for a meeting of shipping companies and the uS~.f~ ,of their se~V:ice8; Ln orde:s to "azrange for a .stabl'e an~

gu~~~t~~d agreement o~ the stand~rd~zati~n,of

freight

r~tes,at leyels~

,~• • . ' ' • •~ . " '. I ' . ' , •

equi, tably fixed in comparison_{. .}^'iIith simil ar rates,_{- . . . .}pr-evad.La.ng..in "o~fler._... parts of the world" •

INLAND NAVIGATION

There are two big

international rivers in West :Afr'ioa;>the' Senegal and the Niger, wi th its tributary the Benue , A brie'f· de'scrfption; of the

conditions of use of these rivers is given

below.

A. THE SENEGAL

_ ~. ' . . • _ : : a

• • ! J

The

rive~

Senegal, forms

t~~ f!on~~e~,betweep ~~n~ga~

.,and

Mauritapia up to

the

confluenoe

of

the Faleme

(823

kilometres from

St.

Louis), where

it

en'ters' Mali.

I~ ^the-·or;,

^'it"is

na~iga.ble_·~p

^to

Ambided~'

^(kilo-

metre 880) arid

~ven

Kayes (nlometre 924)" .

Fro~"

^Ainbidedi

'th~ ~:b~­

Bamako ~ailway runs along its valley throUgh

a

^{large part of'Mali's}

territorl.

Infrastructure '

.-.'

It has two

, , stretches:

~(~) The 'fluvio-maritime stretch ^I

This

extends from the mouth to pci~or tkilometre

267)

or rather to Mafou

bar (kilometre

335)~ which'~iiows

a

minimum depth of

5m,

of

water'downstream ^at'low 'wat~r~ The'bar at'the

mouth

limits ~ff~~tive

draught to 3m for fluvio-maritime_, navigation"from 'or-

tb"nakar.

'This

,

stretoh is therefore open all year! except on days

o'f

high'" ~we~f. - ,

'~

(2) The central _Btr~toh

"• .~^t

:~his

extends from Mafou

to,~ay~~; (kilom~~re

924),:i.e.

for 989 km.

and is

composed-of

~ seri~~ ~f shallows and rocky or sandy shelves,

; , ~ fJ

E/CN.14/~~S/11.' Page

7 ,',., .... <:. ',':

^,~

...

which emerge at low \'Tater ~hen "the ..flow i~ prq:Q:t~cally ~il. At 1?-igh

• ' . ' • : : : •~.. , I

water the depth is at least

5m

^up to Kayes. ,With a draught of ,from,

2.50m

to 3m navigation is on the whole possible for

three

_mo~ths of"

the:year .u:?",to

Ka~di

(kl.l.ometre

532.)

^{and for} two months of: the'-year

~

^"

up to-Kayes (kilometi~e 924)., Kaedi can be _reach~d with.. a 1m draU8ht.:, during

'8evel~

months "'of

th~

year and Matam

(kilom~'~re

•

623):

. '' . '

dv.ri~g ~i;X:',~~'

. ' r " . . . . . - .^'.'

months of the year.

Operation

' . .. . . . ^{- ' ' "}

Fluvio-maritime stretch _"

-. '1 ..(

The Import-Export_{. .} Shipping_{. .} Company (Societe

.

Navale Import-Export ~ S.N.I.E.) operates on this stretch with one vessel, the Soulac,'a

converted L.

C

~

T.

^of

600T,

de'adweight

wi th

^a load draught of

,2.25m'. ,:-

Upe~r~~=~Q!J!.l.Bt.l:'eam tonnage.-~transpo~ted-by this company "ha?' 4ecli.~e~·- ".-, steadily, from

9,350T

in

1953

to

4,987T. in.1959, and

~as only

2,48QT ..-

1IoJ . ' .' :. : ~' • • • "~ ^{j •} J: ',."I

in

the

1960

winter season. In

1959,

transport charges, including

storage, for goods from Dakar were USS12 to

st. L'otti:s', tiS$15

to Podoz-

,

and US$20 to Kayes.'

(2)

Central stretch

..:";" . . " . . .

T1;le.:..~e~~;ag,e,ries du Senegal (Seneg~· Sh~:PJ)~~g:..~~n.e), w.~os~, ~~r~:p~~~, of tra.ffic~.,be~ween St.~ Loua s and interm~diate.stops" is guaran teed by

• , . . • I • & • ' " l • • . ... • ' . • • • • " .

oonve,n:tiqn,., oper~teson this str e toh , The fle~t corrai at s of: .. ' : .. -: ' .. '

. : • • . ' • - • • , " .j • • •~.. • .. '

3

vessels totalling

950T

in deadweight and with a:total'capacity:

.. "":: .for

.790

deck passengers

. 2 tugboats of 180 HP and 80 HP: draught

i

.46m and D.'7Om.

9

bargos wi th a. to~al d~adweight -~f 630T:, Load draught from l.20m to O.60mo

'1~

1'961, ;

20';654T ~ere transported 'upstream (onl¥~^{691T for} K~ye8)

and ^4,-664'ri' d_own~tr:~·arri. (6~y 53]T:.~ro'm ·K~!es)."

^"

Merch.a.ndi :.:e is divideO. into ca.t~~ories:fo.r, ~ar.~f~ing:

•• - ' : ••• I !. . • . .

E/CN.14/TRANS/17 Page 8

I :':' explosives, spiri t's, dang.ez-ous :product s 1 oa:f .sugar~ ^shei

r-fish,

_s~4.·,:,sundries

•.. ' . .: : . " :, . ' • :~" ~f^{, \ . . .} ~

I I

Ill:"

'

..

other eugars , "c~,re,ala, cement, lime, bricks, iron empty, "9ags.: '

~ ^{. "" ,} ~: ^{4 ' .}t ' _ . ' . t • J ~.^{• .:' :} I

1959,upstream'tariffs are'given· belgw in US$ ..Q.ql per T/Km for eao_h,'.

category of· merchandise: ^{' I -, , ' ',: :c"}

,.,: .'"1.-1.':,~.: ~">'2'.76..·· .. :^{t '...}~^•

.j.\:

-s: - ... , '.i\.~.\ .. \, .;',. - ..2:~~ ~41' ,^.... " -: ;^.'

,Distances I

1 to 200 km

3.44

201 _to

600 .

_kIn ^~_2.06

" I ,.

, - ..

.. ~^I .,

-. -

601 to

8QO

_.....:.~ ^km ~.73

,,' l'

Handiing.,co~ts' amount. to:US$ 1.20,

per,

tort.

(3f'"

Chmoe',

tra:ffIo

:' '''.1 ...,~.:'.~. .'. ".':-

I I

i

~:37

~.81

III','

1.0) ,

0.69

It is estimated that ther,e are 400 canoes in Senegal and 50 in , Mauritania. ' Their deadweight varies from lOT to 40T with a-possible_,

"

load draught of 1.70m. Total traffic carried by these canoes is from 10,000T/year'-to 15,000T/ye~•. Tariffs charged for the transport of

oement vary__ between UB$ ,0.017 per T/km

,(usa

2.2 for the 1)2 kID from St. Louis to ROBSO) and US$ 0.01-5 per T/km (US$ 4 for. the 267 ,kIn,from ..'.:

St. ,L~':l:is bo .Podoz-},

At present, therefore, traffic on the river ·is less 'than 50,OOOT/year and in the sho~t-term is not expected to exceed 100,OOOT/ye,ar even allow-

-<:-t• • • ,.:

ing for the consequences

of

hydro-agricultural development projects with the D'agana' dam. -Traffic to Mali is negli~ib1e.

Plans have been made for studies on the development of the Senegal valley

by th~ building

^{of a} p1Uri-annual; regulating dam' at' Ocuina , This, however, is a project "about

which

little info;~ation

is yet

available and which in anyvcas e is .beyond the'scope ')of the mere improvement of

navigation.

',..t, .-

, B·. THE NIGER.·AND :'THE BENUE

. ,

,

.

< ,

.Ej.dff'~.i

4/TRANS/l 7

Page 9· ..

,^,

The:'Nig~r', ·"lh{ch is 'more than 4,000 ^km Long , rises in the FUta

" ••~• J .:. ,-~ J ', • ,:~ ~

-JaI~n

Highlands Si'erra Leone. It traverses ,Guinea,

,~~.li,

}'liger, skirts "

. .~ ~. " " ' I · . .. ^{& , . "• • ' •}

"Dahomey and finishes in Nigeria where it flows into the Atlantic

I \ • ~ - . . # . . _ .

;,:.; through a delt a , - It~ pr'incipal' tributary, the Benue , is navigable

~up' to Gaxua in Ca~eroun." Th~ ;distance in:kilometres

'OL

various

• ".1,

·~o~nB'. ~iong .t_~~ ^tw? 'ri;ve~B

forom Eacr-avos estuary. is giv'en

'in~

^{'tabl'e II.}

For navigation purposes ,. ~he Nige~' is .d.ivid~d into- .f'our stretches·

separated by three series of currently impassable. ,rapids •

• •: I~ ^{I ,,' • • -...} ~ ^{, . , . . . . ' &}~^{- J I} . " ' . . ' . . ...tl ' ' • --• f ~.

Southern stretch: Guinea-Mali

This 385 km Kour ous sa-Bamako~s·tretch can·~be used between

15

July and the end of Decembe~ only·with a draught·of:l~30m... The· Mali

Nav;ga~io~ CO~p'any.uses 100HP tugs and l50T and 85T ,barges,' making it,pos~i.·ble to .form, 60QT.tovs ,. . Traffic is .slight, .approrimat~lY

15,OOOT

and 5,000 passengers per year in both directions. Tariffs vary with merchandise from US$ 0.014 to. 0.048 per T/km.~ Kouroussa, the f~~hest point upstream of the stretch~ is on the Conakry-Kankan railway ~n Guinea, and Bamako, the furth~~t poi~~ do~~str~~"ison the Dakar~Nige'r raiiway line which conti nuaa up to Koul akoro a~, th~

J " _ _ . . ~ _ -, ~ •- v,

, head of the following stretch.

II.~ • \ - • I .;_ • • • I , P

For the

64

^km separating Bamako from Koulikoro. tb;.e river~. is

... a. •

'obs'tnicted by' the' Sotuba and Kania .rapi.ds ,,!"h.i,ch. make na~i~atiqn,

. ^{- -' .} . ..

i'mpos:s:Lble except ~n ^some fi~te~~ days per year when. m_erohan9.-is~ ^is . ""'conveyed froiD on~ 'stretch to another. . " ....^{"l '.}

A hydro-electric station (With two groups: 340Q kVa) is_. ~lanned

' ~,.- .. ..:~..';...,.

at Sotuba and the possibility of eventually using the head-race and tail-race"for navig~tiori,'after pa:ssil'ig': th:e rapid by"a lock, is being investigated.

Northerrt stretoh:

Mali

to Niger

.-., .

,_.

. .

From Koulikoro to Ansongo, i,e. approximately _l~400

km,

the Niger, is navigable as follows:

15

^{July -}

15

August

15

August -

15

September

,. . 15

Septe~mber:~'

15 January'

"'.'1_ ~^.: i

5'

^'Ja.r{uary .- 1 'April

, .. i: :~'15' january .:~ 1- April

4 '

. ..... ^~..

.. .

^{. ,.... q J}

from Kcul.Lkcr o.to Mop,ti·

from Koulikoro to Timbuctu from KoU1ik~ro to

Gao

from

Mopti to Gao

from Gao'

to

^Ansongo

4 ,J •

•

.

~ ^{I ,}

505 krn 900 km 1,300 ^kIn

• J ' • •

. 300 km : 100 km

•

"-..":""

~,..The.depth .o.f.,:the vtater. varies with'

the

·date'.· . In.' September-October,

.

~~,~i

^[(1Q9P-

is.e.~~on

^{',i n?y:i:gat i on'}'between Koul Lkor-o- and Gao is''possi

bi at;

- .. , M ~~' " . '

with a:,draught 9f· approximately 2 to 2.50m. ^{I' • '. .} ~ ^,

The

Mali'Navigation'Company, which

also'operate~ o~

this

_~tretch,

, . &.. "-

has a fleet

consisting of: -. .- .. ' ...

Tugs: .

5,

of 100. HP.,

-3

of 200 liP, 1

of

400, lIP

: Pusher ..tugs:, 1 of.200 HJ?,-1 of 150 HP, '1 of 100 liP ^{I I} . ~elt7P~opelled

vessels: 1

of 100

HP .(70T)

arid')

of '240 BP (300T)

Passenger cr~f~:'l. of:320 HP (200.passengers) andjl~ of 400 HP~

:~jt300 passengers) "

.~~~ne b~g~s: 30 of, ~50, T, 20 of'85 T and 6:of 60 T

: Push

barges: ~ of

250 T, 2

of.lOO

T and'6'of 60

~ 100 T• .

Tariffs'

on"'th:Ls

'~tr~tch

^;"ary

b~tween'US$'

^6.014

~d

^{0.048 :per}

T/km"

Traifi'c -1s:a.pproximate1y 70,000 T/year downstream' and_{. . , .}

5,000 T/

~. . ~ .

year

upstream with about 50,000 passengers per year in

both directions •

. 'Traf"f'ic is heavies't ori^I'the:Kou1ikoro-Sego~''s~ctio'n, ~pproximf:i.tely 180 kID long, which

carries 45

'per

~ent' ~f th~ down~t;eam. traffi~'~d 95

per 'cent....of th'e u:p8'tre~m traffic. The'ra are three trPes ,of ~~v~ga­

tion depending on water

depth:

Heavy"navigation ',"

_-~

,

l •

" =-t \ . : . _ ,

Pr-om

1.

~~y to

2?

Decembe.r.with a water <;lepth .of:1.50m

200 HP tugs

with

a draught of 1.10m ..

150T barges: light draught 0.23m, load dra~ht 1.~Om

I" ' : . . _;:::1. . . .^'

E/C~'.1·4/r:r?·~~/~.7 '._:~

Page '11 \'" :;:.:.>-

Semi-heavy navieation

From' 20 Jun'e'; to 1 January with

it'

water depth

of

i ,'30m

,.

t"\ ', . . ,

t .... :~

-.

, zoo

HP tugs:" d,~~Udht l.19m

lOO,HP,

t~s: drau~ht

a.7Om

' . ' .

150 T barges loaded to

110

T: drau6ht 1.05m

85

T barges: li 6ht drauciht a.2Om, load ^{drau~ht 0.9Om.}

Light.navigat~on :

From

15

June to

15

January with a water depth of 0.80m

100

HP tugs: draught

a.70m

. 8'5;'T";barges I oaded to'

65

T:' draught

o.

^10m.

'50 T

b~ges:' l:l~hf~diaught

^{O.iBm, ioad}

dra~ht O.60m.i:.~; I~.

" .

, If. n~c e s~ar;y- n~v~g.a

t.

Lon may be e.xtet:l.de~ ~t ..th..e r.i sk of ground~ng.

'Th'e self-dredging-. floating and bottom ·.panel method is being used to effect improvements'. In' this way' it is hoped to add between ,0.50m and

O.60m

to the depth and ex~end,the,hea~~ ~~vigation p~ripd by. one month and the light navigation period by three months.

It is also planned to adapt equipmen~ for shallow water navigation:

• I ~ •

Conversion of IOO..m? tugS" into pusher. -tugs wi th a draught of 0.55m

• I . J l - . - • • •' . I : . .' .'" •

200 T barges with a light draught of

O.26m,

of O.52~ wf~h a

" • . I ' .

65T load, of O.90m with a 150T load -and" of 1.'15oi wIth a

~OO T load. . ^{I " ,}

Th~re

^.

i~': talk, "as

a

long~'t~rm meas~e,

^of

~eguiating

dams at San Karani or at Nianda. . . . ... :~',_"..: '.:~_ .'. ." ....~..'. ' . Niger-Nigeria stretch' . ':.,.'; ^I.,'

I • ••~ ~ ^{: " : :}~l: .;, ... . ' .,~ ^{.'<s ,}• '',:'. . .» ' . .J~. • "~

Beyond Ansongo,'the Niger is· not naVigable between Labbezenga and Tillabery fo!,:'a d{stancEt' of 'approXi.mately~:130·km- because of rapids~

..

^{" . , . '., ~}

According to

the':NEnEeO _repo;t~

^it

_b~comes

navigable again from

Ti"la.·a~erYl t'o;,.Yelwa::" 'f:> _~~ ' , r ": .~, ^{'-." ' j .}j~~'.~',. ^{. . ' - : : •= ..}

. .:- .:' '. ',' -.:', . . _.. . ." ., _ , -:t~ , - . ., . . '. ' . . .

from

1 September

to' 15

May with a draught

of

O.90m from 20 September to 15 April with a draught of 1.20m.

'..f \ .

, '

,'"

^{\ ' ' ..' . '}

E/CNPage.14/~S/17 ,,~.;:12 , . . . .'.-

...~....-

-._

^.

Little is known about this section because i t is not use~ for navigation. There are some obstacles in the W: rocky patches, zig-

, '

zags and small rapids. Surveys are 'being made in this section for

, .

purposes, in particular, of electric power production' and irrigation possibilities.

The Niger is not navigable beyond Yelwa because of numerous rocky

," ' ... i · ' . ' .

patches and rapids. It becomes navigable again downstream from"J'abba"' ^{n . . .} to the sea.

Nigerian stretch

This stretch is

made

up. ~~.the Niger down8~rea~ f~om Jebba and the Benue :up to Garua. Here ..t~e Niger is navigable all year round as' far as Onitsha with a draught o~ 1.80m and for eight months a year

' . . ' .

as far as Baro, the ter~inus of one of the branch-lines of Nigerian Railways'. Navigation is possible' on the Beune 'for' four months of the

year"'aB far as Yola' and for two months as' far as Garua in Cameroun.

Three comp~i~s oper~te on this stretch:

(a) The Niger River Transport:

24 tugs and three motor boats

... ;":96

_b~ges^{.. 1}

of from 10 to

431

^{T (average 231 -T} total 22,222

T)

I ,

(b)

_{d·The Holt}

·Transport

Company:

18

tugs and

6 motor

boa.ts

'59

.barg

es

of _~rom.75 to _25~ T .(average 113 T - total

6,650 T) (c) The Niger-Beune Transport Company:

7

tugs and 1 self-propelled vehicle of 600 T ..:.. " '. :' ... :.... "_" ..:...

24.1?arges of from. 50 to 1<;>00 T·(average .175 T _.~, tota1..·4,,200 T).

- '• • . : . I ': • • • : • • • • ' . . • ,~

Some . private companies,·. sucb

as

'Mobil Oil, which.

has one ,tug:·a.nd . , "

three, barges (cap~c.i~.v 4:~200 T), also use the

river.. ....

"

The biggest push

tows (Gongola

type)

consist

of one'

'1 ;'100 HP

',pusher tug and

8

barges _{~,f..-from• • J~)• •}

400

to. 450 T_{• • 4}

(3,20,0

_• ~o

3,600

~}.::

.:.

: ~

.'

~r

E/CN.14/ TRANS/1 7

Page 13

. ; I. • '. >,".i

"

.... I (.. :.. -If·'I:• . • ~ ^{f • •}

In

present conditions, th~ average cost of transport p~~ T/km is

• &l,.- • •~ • -

estimated· in

US$ O.O~ ~t 1.2q8; th~ ~~~ak-down ~eing.a6 fol1~ws:

" r · ·

. 3.per ,cent

• I ,. J ; ~. _ 1_ _.. l

11 p~r .c~n~.,

29 per.c~n~.

.' roo

'per';~'ent"·.

33

per cent 10 pe7: ^cent

.

^{14 per ce~t}

., J~ ~

, ;..

• ''';.4' ! '

' . J •

",

.

I.'

Total ~-

CrefT

, .

Insurance

I ""'1

Depreciation . Overheads Fuel

Maintenance

0.410

. i.""

0.134

, . ,

.

0.).86 0.045 0.135 0.358

1.268 ,: ^{i:', "}

. .

I' .:I -,": • I I ... J^{I ' . ,} . . 1 ~ ^{: ' . ... , :l•,•;...} 'I~ ^{' l .} ~

. Total traffic for the

1959-1960

aeaaon .am.oup.ted ..

tq

-.31~',

..QOO

T

. - ... .... .

.'

^{. '. \ ~}

(20,000

'rr

of'it in transit" upstream for Garua and··~8,0.00.~downstream)

~ •~ •• I J

representing 190,000 T/km, or an average transport distance qf 610

km.

This traffic might amount 'to'600,000 'T i'n

~970~1911.

^,;

,~:.

^"

"

'II)'

I " ' . ,

There'

are

many plans to lower the cost of river. transport and

,: I . 'I·r I · . .

improve navigability on this stretch:

1. Short-term

',-c ' "

. /;

Impr~vement pf yurrent conditions: dredging,. buoying, 'clearing

,

.

^{) . , , . -}

...; .p.f rocks. :.1 . ~ " .' " ':,

Modernization of the fleet and improvement of'conditions'of use.

ConstI~ction of the Kainji dam for th~ pro~uction.?f electric

~~w~~,~irr~gati~nand improved navi8ation •.

1 l ; _ . j

2. . ,Long-:-term ^{, , -,.". t'}

.

^"

Construction of' a' dam at' Jeb'ha': ^{i . .}

.-^.,..^~. ... .

-~

_.

^~--.:.~....::.:.:.:.:::-:

-

^~

• • •" -._'.<7r&"': ....;..-:..: ... :. .

Construction of a dam on the Beune _{. .. -.}

~..... ....^' .'_.^~..^'..". .. .

; Diversion.'()f'.'the ·w~^ter-s

of

^the Logone into ..the Beune~i~ ~.,th~ .-

.. ^~..

__ . '._.fJ.._Q9~. ~se_as_on.· _ '.

Improvement of cuXre~t conditions

~.

.

^{I ;~ I}

1'"~ •

,

..

The cost. ,of ~ra.11sport .is _e~t~mated at,

1,,268

American cents

!"-per'

. ^~ ..

T/km in present oonditionsL, ..; I . . . . ~ •

."

J . '

E/CN.14/TRANS/l1

Page 14

70

pe~' e'en t" •.

A.

B

c.

D.

E.

Only

70 per

cent of the

fleet

is used dur~ng the

period

of navigability. It is estimated ~hat thi~.proportion could be

r~i~ed

^to'"85

:p~r

^{cent', the}

r~mai~d~;':b~i~

^held

~n

^...

• . -.' " , ' 1 . : .~ ,~^{• " ' ; . ' ,}

reserve

for traffic peaks or maintenance or repair.

Night 'navigation' is possible only in very good

weather,.and

in the 'best sections. Night buoying would make it possible to

in6rea8~

the period of navigation and, as a

r~~,ui~;

^'to

• ~ . , . . • • I", ..

increase

the

fleet's tr~BPort,capacity by appro~~ately ... '"

,"~.: -- ~.- ^... .

The ave!ag~ light draught of barg~8 is

0.53

m.-·The. use of better designed barges, with a light draught 9f

0.30

~ would

_, • l • • 4~. :

make

it

possible

to

transport 20 per c~nt, more for a water

dep~h of

"1.65

m• .

The rotation of equipment

.

^, co~d be imp~oved by using more powerful and therefore faster pusher tugs and additional

. .

barges, obviating waiting in ports.

The supply of freight is such that the boats are loaded to_{., ,} an average of

40

p~r

cent

of their capacity

upstreim"a.nd

80 per cent downstream." In -certaan condi tions it might be p08sible to reach a balance of approxi,mately 80 per cent 'of capacaty

,upstre~ and'downstream.

. . .

^,

The following table shows the effects

of

^measures ~, ~,"~, D~ and E on the cost of transport. The first column

shows

the current break- down of costs, column A the cost breakdown applying measuxe.A," _~61umn B the

cost

breakdown applying measures A and B.simultageous1y, and so on.

Breakdown

of

cost:":· ",'; Current _A B ^C

.,~• • • l ....

D _.~

.;":.

Crew Fuel

Main tenan ce Insurance Depreciation Overheads

0.410 0.134

.:0.186 . '.

0.045

Oa135

0.358

0.336 0.134' -0.170"- 0.041

0.122

0.327

0.396

Oa329 O~~6q O.~?4

O.i~3~·-6:~Ir~2<~·o·.224·· -'O~i6e ~.

0.1'35

_'O~llJ

"0.084'

^J _O~063 0.03"3 0 .. 0 30' 0_~022

0' .oi

7

0.097 0.097

0.072

0.055 0.259 0.237 0.117 0.133

Total

1.268 0.560

. ' t. , .

i/bN .14/TRANS!±~,,~~'

Page

15 ", .

';'~(~:,~:'i'

,Th'~~e'

'are'

good grounds,··:the'refore"', . for/hoping' for a' sUbtit~ti1n:F'i:;:;~~

c: - ', -.I " :... - ' ....

fall in the cost of fluvial transport. . . ^{& .} ~ ^•.4~l·^•• ~.^{,- ••••}~,..^{: •••.}

.'

Construction of the Kainji dam

...::.:.:.:......:-.-.... -_... -.__ ..

·:··i:'1j.: .::!'.:~,:. :: This dam , ·wi th the rock 01earing wcrk at the Bajibo and Kpatachi

.

"-::i~~~r8;pid.B·-_~d· the building' of a diversion i':i

th'

l'oc'ks- for the 01 earill8 of

..th:e ':~AwUrU

^rapids, will' make downstream;navigation possible the whole

4f:,4J .:1 ..:.q.!.::: ", "

, "'-'".,~~ rQund with a. minimum -water deptt -of- 1

.65

m..· -The dam·will·,·be-'· ""--"-"'~:".,

,"eq¢pped with two Locks , with an intermE'diate'basin which will allow ,:~.~;...:'·.r:

P9~jia to pass to the., upper stretch.~ ^p The rese~oir, extending to Yelwa.,'::f";:

.,.,i.1~

.:

inundate the r~'efs and rapids or. tl~.is aeot~on and enable boats" :.<. ",,:.'-:'

.t~... pass to the Tillab.ery-Yelwa stre.tch. , , \ ' ~.r·.: . '. ,,",:.' ..~.

. ' .. 'Bed level of th~~,!:lntry canal^{J ,}

"--,Upper-~look ail-I· and intermediate bd.sin:·-level-

~orm~ h~g~~wc;Lter.,l.evel, in the, baa.en1__ • J'::

;: J;\; ..t , ~,ormaJ. low wat~:r (1eve1" .in thej b.asin',: "...^{t. ....L "}

.. "Level of the no~mal reservoi~ hlgh water

.- ^'\- .

./ '," Level of the normal reservoir' low 'f,-ater

N?!m~ high.w{3-t.~r.Leve'l downstream", .

• I. ' . NO~J11al l<?!'l wat.~r level .downstrea.m'l'., ; t.' ;

, ..

{S')'

m

O

-" . ','"

"'<~'

1

38

"m^,oj',~^{-: , )}'i' ;

-; 135

m

"122 m" ~,---"-,--

... ' 1'26.50

m

',) 125.50 m'J'

104 to ^:J':;

112 m: ..

<.

" 108 m

\ ,-

The size'

~f··th~

^two'

a.ntlcip~ted "i _g~ks~

^is' 198

bi-~

^{21'.10 m''with -:}

21.10 m gates. They will permit passago of the biggest tows in ourrent

_. " • .".... , ,l

use, the Gongola type push tows.

..r '^~"..^",.

Total length 192 m

Width .,' .. ' ". 20.10

m'··..

^{. : j . ,j r.-' "}

Dra.Ught '^{l'· .::} "'1.'

52""

ni~\

;.\

^{_f. " '} ,~~ ^", Compoaatiori:~ ~ p~'hei:" pl. tis tWo'-set~ ~ ~f

"'fo'ur'

⁴⁰⁰

Capaoity: 3,,200 to 3,600 tons.

The oonstruotio~

'o't"

the" 'Kainj:i da~' ~ili'^{also make}

1't

'possi'ble to lower the oost or dOwnstream' flUv:i:hJ.

tTa.rispo~t'~r

^both by extending

·the

period

of· navigabilfty' t'o th~ wllcle

year

.'andbY increasi.n8 the'

~.;: