Transport in Djibouti is overseen by the Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport. Over the last years, the Government of Djibouti have significantly increased funding for rail and road construction to build an infrastructure. They include
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-access ...
s,
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
s and
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 Ham ...
s, in addition to various forms of public and private vehicular, maritime and aerial transportation.
Railways
The country's first railway,
Ethio-Djibouti Railway, was a
metre gauge railway
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
that connected
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
to Djibouti. It was built between 1894 and 1917 by the French who ruled the country at the time as
French Somaliland
French Somaliland (french: Côte française des Somalis, lit= French Coast of the Somalis so, Xeebta Soomaaliyeed ee Faransiiska) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which time it became the French Ter ...
. The railway is no longer operational.
Currently (2018), Djibouti has 93 km of railways. The new
Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway
Addis may refer to:
Places
*Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia
**Addis Ababa University
Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest un ...
, an electrified
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
railway built by two Chinese government firms, began regular operations in January 2018. Its main purpose is to facilitate freight services between the Ethiopian hinterland and the Djiboutian
Port of Doraleh
The Port of Doraleh is an extension of the Port of Djibouti, located 5 km west of Djibouti City. The multipurpose port has terminals for handling oil, bulk cargo, containers and livestock. It was partially owned and operated by DP World and ...
. Railway services are provided by the ''Ethio-Djibouti Standard Gauge Rail Transport Share Company'', a bi-national company between Ethiopia and Djibouti, which operates all commuter and freight railway services in the country. Djibouti has a total of four railway stations, of which three (
Nagad
Nagad ( bn, নগদ) is a Bangladeshi Digital Financial Service (DFS), operating under the authority of Bangladesh Post Office, an attached department of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication (Bangladesh),. It is the new version of the ...
,
Holhol
Holhol ( so, Hollholl, ar, حلحول) is a town in the Ali Sabieh Region of Djibouti. It is located south-west of the capital Djibouti City, at an altitude of 450m. Holhol enjoys a semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh). The surrounding district is ...
and
Ali Sabieh
Ali Sabieh ( so, Cali Sabiix, ar, علي صبيح) is the second largest city in Djibouti. It is situated about Southwest of Djibouti City and north of the border with Ethiopia. It sprawls on a wide basin surrounded by granitic mountains on all ...
) can handle passenger traffic.
Roads
![Djibouti Highways and Railway System](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Djibouti_Highways_and_Railway_System.png)
The Djiboutian highway system is named according to the road classification. One routes in the
Trans-African Highway network
The Trans-African Highway network comprises transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union in conjunction with reg ...
originate in
Djibouti City
Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and in many early English texts and on many early maps, Jibuti; so, Magaalada Jabuuti, french: link=no, Ville de Djibouti, ar, مدينة جيبوتي, aa, Gabuutî Magaala) is the eponymous capital of Dji ...
. Djibouti also has multiple highway links with
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. Roads that are considered primary roads are those that are fully asphalted (throughout their entire length) and in general they connect all the major towns in Djibouti. There is a total of of roads, with paved and unpaved, according to a 2000 estimate.
Ports and harbors
![Ethiopian cargo ship at Port of Djibouti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Ethiopian_cargo_ship_at_Port_of_Djibouti.jpg)
Djibouti has an improved
natural harbor
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
known as the
Port of Djibouti
The Port of Djibouti is a port in Djibouti, the capital of Djibouti. It is strategically located at the crossroads of one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, linking Europe, the Far East, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf. The por ...
. 95% of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
’s imports and exports move through Djiboutian ports.
For decades, the Port of Djibouti was Djibouti's only freight port. It is now in the process of being replaced by the
Port of Doraleh
The Port of Doraleh is an extension of the Port of Djibouti, located 5 km west of Djibouti City. The multipurpose port has terminals for handling oil, bulk cargo, containers and livestock. It was partially owned and operated by DP World and ...
west of Djibouti City. In addition to the Port of Doraleh, which handles general cargo and oil imports, Djibouti currently (2018) has three other major ports for the import and export of bulk goods and livestock, the
Port of Tadjourah (potash), the
Damerjog Port (livestock) and the
Port of Goubet
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 Ham ...
(salt).
Merchant marine
as of 2003, A merchant fleet of 4 ships are registered under the Djibouti flag out of which 2 are general cargo
Airports
![An Air Djibouti aircraft at the Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/An_Air_Djibouti_aircraft_at_the_Djibouti%E2%80%93Ambouli_International_Airport.png)
Djibouti has 13 airports, of which three have paved runways.
Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport
Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport ( ar, مطار جيبوتي الدولي, french: link=no, Aéroport international Ambouli) is a joint civilian/military-use airport situated in the town of Ambouli, Djibouti. It serves the national capi ...
, just outside the city of Djibouti, is the country's international airport. There are also domestic airports at
Tadjoura
Tadjoura ( aa, Tagórri; ar, تاجوراء ''Tağūrah''; so, Tajuura) is one of the oldest towns in Djibouti and the capital of the Tadjourah Region. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the ...
and
Obock
Obock (also Obok, aa, Hayyú) is a small port town in Djibouti. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura, where it opens out into the Gulf of Aden. The town is home to an airstrip and has ferries to Djibouti City. The French ...
. Beginning in 1963, the state-owned
Air Djibouti
Air Djibouti, also known as Red Sea Airlines, is the flag carrier of Djibouti. It first flew in 1963 and ceased all operations in 2002. In 2015, the airline was relaunched, first as a cargo airline and then, in 2016, with passenger services as we ...
also provided domestic service to various domestic centers and flew to many overseas destinations. The national carrier discontinued operations in 2002.
Daallo Airlines
Daallo Airlines is a Somali-owned airline based at Dubai Airport Free Zone in Al Garhoud, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With its main hub at the Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport, the airline operates scheduled services in the Horn of A ...
, a
Somali-owned private carrier, has also offered air transportation since its foundation in 1991. With its hub at the Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport, the airline provides flights to a number of domestic and overseas destinations.
Airports – with paved runways
''total:''
3
''over 3,047 m:''
1
''1,524 to 3,047 m:''
2 (2013 est.)
Airports – with unpaved runways
''total:''
10
''1,524 to 2,437 m:''
1
''914 to 1,523 m:''
7
''under 914 m:''
2 (2013 est.)
References
Bibliography
*Michelon 745 Africa North East, Arabia 2007
*GeoCenter Africa North East 1999
*Maplanida.com
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