The Trans-African Highway network comprises transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...
(UNECA), the
African Development Bank
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies ...
(ADB), and the
African Union in conjunction with regional international communities. They aim to promote
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
and alleviate
poverty in Africa
Poverty in Africa is the lack of provision to satisfy the basic human needs of certain people in Africa. African nations typically fall toward the bottom of any list measuring small size economic activity, such as income per capita or GDP per ...
through
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...
infrastructure development and the management of road-based
trade corridors. The total length of the nine highways in the network is .
In some documents the highways are referred to as "Trans-African Corridors" or "Road Corridors" rather than highways. The name Trans-African Highway and its variants are not in wide common usage outside of planning and development circles, and as of 2014 one does not see them signposted as such or labelled on maps, except in
Kenya
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and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
where the
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
–
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
–
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
–
Fort Portal
Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom.
Location
Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampa ...
section (or the Kampala–
Kigali feeder road) of Trans-African Highway 8 is sometimes referred to as the "Trans-Africa Highway".
Background
Need for the Highway System
Colonial power
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
s and, later, competing
superpowers and
regional power
In international relations, since the late 20thcentury, the term "regional power" has been used for a sovereign state that exercises significant power within a given geographical region.Joachim Betz, Ian Taylor"The Rise of (New) Regional Pow ...
s, generally did not encourage road links between their respective spheres except where absolutely necessary (i.e. trade), and in newly independent African states, border restrictions were often tightened rather than relaxed as a way of protecting internal trade, as a weapon in border disputes, and to increase the opportunities for official corruption.
Poverty affects development of international highways when scarce financial resources have to be directed towards internal rather than external priorities.
The agencies developing the highway network are influenced by the idea that road infrastructure stimulates trade and so alleviates poverty, as well as benefiting health and education since they allow medical and educational services to be distributed to previously inaccessible areas.
On 1 July 1971
Robert K. A. Gardiner, the Executive Secretary of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; french: link=no, Commission économique pour l'Afrique, CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its ...
(UNECA), established the Trans-African Highway Bureau to oversee the development of a continental road network.
Wars and conflicts
As well as preventing progress in road construction, wars and conflicts have led to the destruction of roads and river crossings, have prevented maintenance and have often closed vital links.
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
,
Liberia, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
and
Angola
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are all in rebuilding phases after war. Wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo set back road infrastructure in that country by decades and cut the principal route between East and West Africa. In recent years, security considerations have restricted road travel in the southern parts of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
,
Algeria
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, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
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,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
as well as in northern
Chad and much of
Sudan.
Trans-African highways can only develop in times of peace and stability, and in 2007 the future looks brighter, with the southern Sudan conflict being the only one currently affecting development of the network (highway 6). Lawlessness rather than war hampers progress in developing highway 3 between Libya and Chad, and though economic instability could affect maintenance of paved highways 4 and 9 though
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
, there are practical alternatives through neighbouring countries. Conflicts in
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
do not affect the network as that is the largest African country with no trans-African highways, but they will affect the development of feeder roads to the network.
Principles and processes
Using existing national highways as much as possible, the aim of the development agencies is to identify priorities in relation to trade, to plan the highways, and to seek financing for the construction of missing links and bridges, the paving of sections of earth and gravel roads, and the rehabilitation of deteriorated paved sections.
The need to reduce delays caused by highway checkpoints and border controls or to ease travel restrictions has also been identified, but so far solutions have not been forthcoming. Rather than just having international highways over which each country maintains its regulations and practices, there is a need for transnational highways over which regulations and practices are simplified, unified and implemented without causing delays to goods and travellers.
Features of the network
Countries served
The network as planned reaches all the
continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas t ...
al African
nation
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective Identity (social science), identity of a group of people unde ...
s except
Burundi,
Eritrea,
Eswatini,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
,
Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni),
Lesotho,
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
,
Rwanda and
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
. Of these,
Rwanda,
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
,
Lesotho and
Eswatini have
paved
Pavement may refer to:
* Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering
* Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways
** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface
* Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway ...
highways connecting to the network, and the network reaches almost to the border of the others.
Missing links
More than half of the network has been paved, though maintenance remains a problem. There are numerous missing links in the network where tracks are impassable after rain or hazardous due to rocks, sand, and sandstorms. In a few cases, there has never been a road of any sort, such as the 200 km gap between Salo in the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
and
Ouésso
Ouésso is a town in the northern Republic of the Congo, lying on the Sangha River and surrounded by rainforest. It is linked by ferry with Brazzaville and is known for the pygmy people who live nearby. It is the capital of the Sangha Region ...
in the Republic of the Congo on highway 3. The missing links arise mainly because the section does not have a high national priority as opposed to a regional or transcontinental priority.
As a result of missing links, of the five major regions—
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
,
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
,
Central,
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
, and
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
—road travel in all weather is only relatively easy between East and Southern Africa, and that relies on a single paved road through southwestern
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
(the
Tanzam Highway
The Tanzam Highway leads from Lusaka in Zambia to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The highway was built from 1968 to 1973 in several stages and was intended to provide seaport access for Zambia and to expand the transport options for Zambia, Mal ...
).
While North Africa and West Africa are linked across the
Sahara, the main deficiency of the network is that there are no paved highways across Central Africa. Not only does this prevent road trade between East and West Africa, or between West and Southern Africa, but it restricts trade within Central Africa. Although there may be paved links from West, East, or Southern Africa to the fringes of Central Africa, those links do not penetrate very far into the region. The terrain, rainforest, and climate of Central Africa, particularly in the
catchments of the lower and middle
Congo River
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
and the
Ubangui
The Ubangi River (), also spelled Oubangui, is the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River in the region of Central Africa. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m3/s) and Uele Rivers (mean annual discharge ...
,
Sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
, and
Sanaga River
The Sanaga River (formerly german: Zannaga) is the largest river in Cameroon located in East Region, Centre Region and Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Djérem and Lom River. The total length of Sanaga-Djérem Rive ...
s, present formidable obstacles to highway engineers, and paved roads there have short lifespans. Further north in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and
Chad, hilly terrain or plains prone to flooding have restricted the development of local paved road networks.
Through this forbidding environment, three Trans-African Highways are planned to cross in the east–west direction (highways 6, 8, and 9) while one will cross north to south (highway 3). As of 2014, all have substantial missing links in Central Africa.
Description of the highways in the network
Nine highways have been designated, in a rough grid of six mainly east–west routes and three mainly north–south routes. A fourth north–south route is formed from the extremities of two east–west routes.
East-west routes
Starting with the most northerly, the east–west routes are:
* Trans-African Highway 1 (
TAH 1),
Cairo–Dakar Highway, : a mainly coastal route along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, continuing down the Atlantic coast of North-West Africa; substantially complete, although the border between Algeria and Morocco is closed. TAH 1 joins with TAH 7 to form an additional north–south route around the western extremity of the continent. Connects with M40 of the
Arab Mashreq International Road Network.
* Trans-African Highway 5 (
TAH 5),
Dakar–N'Djamena Highway, , also known as the Trans-Sahelian Highway, linking West African countries of the
Sahel, about 80% complete.
* Trans-African Highway 6 (
TAH 6),
N'Djamena–Djibouti Highway, : contiguous with TAH 5, continuing through the eastern Sahelian region to Indian Ocean port of Djibouti. The approximate route of TAH 5 and TAH 6 was originally proposed in the early 20th century as an aim of the
French Empire.
* Trans-African Highway 7 (
TAH 7
TAH, Tah or tah may refer to:
* Taiwan Adventist Hospital, Taipei
* Total artificial heart
* Tahitian language ISO 639 code
* Whitegrass Airport, Tanna, Vanuatu, IATA code
* Jonathan Tah, German footballer
* Trans-African Highway network, Transc ...
),
Dakar–Lagos Highway, : also known as the Trans–West African Coastal Road, about 80% complete. This highway joins with TAH 1 to form an additional north–south route around the western extremity of the continent.
* Trans-African Highway 8 (
TAH 8),
Lagos–Mombasa Highway, : which is contiguous with TAH7 and forms with it a 10,269-km east–west crossing of the continent. The Lagos–Mombasa Highway's eastern half is complete through Kenya and Uganda, where locally it is known as the Trans-Africa Highway (the only place where the name is in common use). Its western extremity in Nigeria, Cameroon and Central African Republic is mostly complete but a long missing link across DR Congo currently prevents any practical use through the middle section.
* Trans-African Highway 10 (
TAH 10), (Djibouti)–Kampala–Libreville–Bata Highway,
* Trans-African Highway 9 (
TAH 9),
Beira–Lobito Highway, : substantially complete in the eastern half but the western half through Angola and south-central DR Congo requires reconstruction.
North-south routes
Starting with the most westerly, these are:
* Trans-African Highway 2 (
TAH 2),
Algiers–Lagos Highway, : also known as the Trans-Sahara Highway: substantially complete, only of desert track remains to be paved, but border and security controls restrict usage.
* Trans-African Highway 3 (
TAH 3),
Tripoli–Windhoek–(Cape Town) Highway, : this route has the most missing links and requires the most new construction, as only national paved roads in Libya, Cameroon, Angola, Namibia and South Africa can be used to any extent. South Africa was not originally included, as the highway was first planned in the
Apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
era, but it is now recognized that it would continue to Cape Town.
* Trans-African Highway 4 (
TAH 4),
Cairo–Gaborone–(Pretoria/Cape Town) Highway, : the completion of the stretch of highway from Dongola to
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( ar, أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about ...
Junction in Northern Sudan and the road from the
Galabat border crossing in North-Western Ethiopia leaves no section unpaved; the road section between Babati and
Dodoma in central Tanzania was completed in May 2018.
Cairo to Cape Town road: Linking Tanzania to the rest of Africa
''African Review of Business and Technology'', published 1 May 2018, accessed 11 May 2021 The section between Isiolo and Moyale
Moyale is a market town on the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, and is the administrative centre for two Ethiopian woredas, Moyale of Oromia Region and Moyale of Somali Region.
Moyale is the main border post on the Nairobi-Addis Ababa road, ...
in northern Kenya (dubbed 'the road to hell' by overland travellers) has recently been completed creating a smooth crossing across Kenya. Crossing the Egypt-Sudan border by road has been prohibited for a number of years, a vehicle ferry on Lake Nasser is used instead. As with TAH 3, South Africa was not originally included as the idea was first proposed in the Apartheid era, but it is now recognized that it would continue to Pretoria and Cape Town. Except for passing through Ethiopia, the route roughly coincides with proposals for the Cape to Cairo Road put forward in the early 20th century British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
.
As noted above, TAH 1 and TAH 7
TAH, Tah or tah may refer to:
* Taiwan Adventist Hospital, Taipei
* Total artificial heart
* Tahitian language ISO 639 code
* Whitegrass Airport, Tanna, Vanuatu, IATA code
* Jonathan Tah, German footballer
* Trans-African Highway network, Transc ...
join to form an additional north–south route around the western extremity of the continent between Monrovia and Rabat.
Regional highway projects in Africa
Regional international communities are heavily involved in trans-African highway development and work in conjunction with the ADB and UNECA. For example:
* The Arab Maghreb Union
The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) or simply the Maghreb Union (MU) ( ar, اتحاد المغرب العربي ', french: Union du Maghreb Arabe) is a political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity am ...
drives the development and maintenance of the Tripoli to Nouakchott section of TAH 1.
* The Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...
(ECOWAS) drives the development of and maintenance of TAH 5 and 7.
* the Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...
(SADC) has an extensive network of road projects and trade corridors in southern Africa. TAH 9 and the southern ends of TAH 3 and 4 utilize regional highways developed by SADC or its forerunners. In particular SADC manages road and rail corridors from landlocked areas to ports.
See also
* Other intercontinental highway systems: SADC Regional Trunk Road Network, Asian Highway Network, International E-road network
The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Cen ...
and Arab Mashreq International Road Network
* Trans-African Railway
* African transcontinental railroad
* Environmental impact of roads
References
African Development Bank/United Nations Economic Commission For Africa: "Review of the Implementation Status of the Trans African Highways and the Missing Links: Volume 2: Description of Corridors".
14 August 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
*
Further reading
*
External links
* http://ttcanc.org
{{Trans-African Highway network