EA scores high marks in roads test

East African roads are in reasonably good condition compared with the other African sub-regions, according to a report by the African Development Bank. They form major trading routes in the region.

The report titled, State of Infrastructure in East Africa, notes that there has been a marked improvement over the last five years, with an increase in the proportion of paved sections.

There are a number of major corridors in East Africa. The Northern Corridor runs inland from Mombasa and is by far the most significant trading route in the sub-region. The Central Corridor runs through Tanzania.

Further north, a corridor connects Addis Ababa with Djibouti, while another connects Addis Ababa with South Sudan. No major road routes link Ethiopia and Sudan with the EAC.

The Northern Corridor is the main corridor in East Africa and connects four of the five East African Community (EAC) countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi) to the port of Mombasa.

It also provides connections to South Sudan, eastern DRC, and parts of northern Tanzania. It starts out in Kenya as a paved road that was generally in good or fair condition as at 2008.

However, the Ugandan portions of the corridor are only about three-quarters paved, with a marked decline in the condition of the road infrastructure.

REASONABLY MAINTAINED

In Kampala, the corridor then bifurcates toward Kigali (Rwanda) and Juba (South Sudan).

The Rwandan portions are paved and reasonably maintained, while the northern portions in South Sudan remain unpaved but in reasonable condition.

Further north in Ethiopia and Sudan, there is a marked absence of paving, even along routes of strategic significance.

In the south of the sub-region, the Central Corridor also plays an important role connecting the port of Dar es Salaam to markets in Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC.

Along the southern side of Lake Victoria, the Central Corridor route from Bujumbura to Dar es Salaam starts out in Burundi as a paved road in reasonable condition, while the Tanzanian section is only partially paved but is fairly well maintained.

The recent publication of the Corridor Diagnostic Study of the Northern and Central Corridors of East Africa responded to demand for an in-depth assessment of the performance of the corridors and preparation of an action plan to remove identified logistical impediments.

Paved roads have substantially increased along the Central Corridor. In 2006, the figure was 57 per cent, but by 2010 it had risen to 87 per cent. The Northern Corridor is now almost totally paved.

There are significant regional differences in the condition and types of corridors in East Africa. Between 84–97 per cent of the Northern Corridor, by far the most significant artery in the region is paved.

By comparison, only 57 per cent of the road from Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura is paved and only 23 per cent of the road from Addis Ababa to Djibouti.

The reason for the higher level of paving along the Northern Corridor is the greater concentration of traffic.

Most of the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) is concentrated above 1,000 vehicles in the three Northern Corridor sections, compared with only 39 per cent in the Dar es Salaam–Bujumbura corridor and 0 per cent in the Addis Ababa–Djibouti corridor.

The ADB report cites the 50-km Nairobi–Thika superhighway as a positive example of a large project undertaken jointly by different actors in order to improve the regional road infrastructure and trade.

The area covered lies within the Nairobi Metropolitan and Central Province, including large sections of the City and Thika district.

The superhighway is an important part of the regional and continental transport corridor from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt.

The project’s total cost amounted to $360 million, of which $180 million was provided by the African Development Bank. The Kenyan Government contributed $80 million and the EximBank of China $100 million.

The super-highway will serve approximately a million people who live along the road network.

The main beneficiaries comprise commuters who travel daily to the Central Business District such as workers, students, shoppers, and traders.

It will reduce the time taken for goods to reach urban markets and so enhance the supply chain.

The superhighway’s major impact will be to reduce transport costs and journey times in the region.

The time taken to traverse Thika town and Nairobi has fallen from two to three hours to 30-45 minutes.

The project will contribute to transforming the country into an economic hub and will boost trade with other countries in the region.

On the region’s railroad network, the report says, except for Tazara, there is no effective regional railroad network within East Africa.

Furthermore, the existing rail networks are very lightly used, which hinders regional integration.

The national rail networks of the East African member states are mostly independent of one another, again with the exception of Tazara, which is linked into the southern African network.

This situation poses a stark contrast to that in Southern Africa, where national railroad systems form a regional network that spans half a dozen countries.

Further integration of East Africa’s rail systems is complicated by the use of different gauges in the sub-region. Only three of East African railroad lines span more than one country.

Poor operational performance (with the exception of Tazara and the Tanzania Railways Corporation), together with light use of existing rail networks makes the economic case for integration in the rail sector less cogent.

The more pressing priority is to improve the performance of national systems to allow them to compete more effectively with road transportation, advises the ADB report.