Banana is a small

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

in the

Kongo Central Kongo Central (), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of ...

province of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast. The port is situated in Banana Creek, an inlet about 1 km wide on the north bank of the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

's mouth, separated from the ocean by a spit of land 3 km long and 100 to 400 m wide. The port is located on the creek side of the spit, which shelters it from the ocean. It is about 8 km south-east of Muanda to which it is connected by a paved road running along the coast.

Facilities

The port of Banana consists of one wharf of 75 m and depth 5.18 m, with two small cranes for cargo handling and a few small jetties. The port has an oil terminal 4 km further upriver, to which tankers discharge while at anchor in the creek. This terminal has road access separate from the main port east of Muanda. There are no major facilities in Banana apart from the port, since these are provided by the much larger town of Muanda, where the nearest airport is located. There is no rail link. There is also a naval base of the

Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The National Navy () is the maritime component of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). It is a brown-water navy. History Ordinance no.70/295 of 9 November 1970 fixed the organization of the Coast, River, and Lake Guard, a ...

, which is partly maintained with Chinese assistance. In early 2022, a $1.2 billion construction project began to turn the port into the DRC's first

deep-water port A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

. The work is being carried out by

DP World DP World is a multinational logistics company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It specialises in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones. Formed in 2005 by the merger of Dubai Ports Authority and ...

, despite a lack of public tender, as part of its 30 year development and management contract. When completed in 2025, the port is expected to process over 300,000 containers per year. The project has been criticized for its potential environmental threats, since it borders the country's Mangroves National Park, home to vulnerable and endangered plant and animal species.

Climate

History

The town was developed as a port in the 19th century, largely as part of the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

arrived at Banana in 1879 at the start of an exploratory expedition funded by

Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leo ...

. Following the Conference of Berlin (1884–85) the European powers recognised Léopold's claim to the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin () is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the larg ...

, and the establishment of the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

, headed by himself, beginning the period of European colonization. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1911) article on the folkloric belief in werewolves noted that "The people of Banana are said to change themselves by magical means, composed of human embryos and other ingredients, but in their

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

form they may do no hurt to mankind under pain of retaining for ever the beast shape."What We Know And Can Agree On: Wikipedia At 20; What does the future hold for the internet's most popular "information ecosystem"?
, Simon Garfield, 20/10/2020 Banana was the main Belgian naval base of the Congo until independence in 1960.

Notable people

* Mahomet Thomas Phillips (1876–1943), sculptor and stone mason

References

External links