Coastal TransSaharan Highway in Mauritania

Citizens of

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

have limited access to transportation. The single-line railroad serves mining interests with very occasional ad hoc passenger services. Apart from two infrastructural road developments there are few paved roads.

Railways

*717 km total of

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

(

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 in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

), owned and operated by a government mining company,

Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

(National Mining and Industrial Company, SNIM). The railway goes from the mines at

Zouérat Zouérat () is the largest town in northern Mauritania and the capital of the Tiris Zemmour region, with an approximate population of 62,380 (2023). It lies at the eastern end of the Mauritania Railway to Nouadhibou. History The town devel ...

and El Rhein, passes another mine at Fderik, and ends at the port of

Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; , ), formerly named Port-Étienne, is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial center. The city has about 173,000 inhabitants. It is situated on a 65-kilometre peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou ...

Cansado Cansado () is a coastal town in north-western Mauritania on the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula. It is located in the Nouadhibou Department in the Dakhlet Nouadhibou region. It was built from scratch in the early 1960s for the staff administering t ...

. *One of the world's longest trains (up to 2.5 km long) runs here, with more than 200

wagons A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

mainly transporting

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

, and some carriages for passengers; alternatively, people sit on top of the iron piles. There are no rail links with adjacent countries. In 2008, a railway was proposed that would link

Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...

with Tiguint,

Mederdra Mederdra () is a small town and commune in south-west Mauritania, near the border of Senegal. In 2013, it had a population of 7,421. Transport It lies on the route of a proposed railway line to connect phosphate mines at Kaédi with the ...

, R'Kiz, Leguatt, Leeleibatt, Menjem Boffal, Kaedi, and Bofal.

Maps

* *

Timeline

2007

* Sunday, August 5, 2007 - Sudan, China to Build $630 Mln Mauritania Railway. Sudan's Danfodio Holding and China's Transtech Engineering have signed an agreement to build a 460-million-euro ($634 million) railway linking Mauritania's capital

with southern phosphate deposits at Bofal. The line would run close to the southern frontier with

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. It is hoped that the new line would link with existing lines just across the border in

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. There is no through link to

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. There are problems of choice of gauge.

2008

* May - 8 new EMD locomotives.

2013

* Proposed line for phosphate traffic - 430 km long railway line,

and Kaedi, Mauritania's third city, through Tiguint,

, R'Kiz, Leguatt, Leeleibatt and Menjem Boffal, is to be constructed in three years' time.

2014

* Glencore Xstrata proposes branch lines to new mines at

Askaf Askaf is an iron ore prospect in Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–We ...

and Guelb El Aouj sharing infrastructure of SNIM.

Motorway

There are 450 km of Motorway in Mauritania (in 2010), connecting

along a coastal route. A motorway linking Nouakchott to

Rosso Rosso is the major city of south-western Mauritania and capital of Trarza Region, Trarza region. It is situated on the Senegal River at the head of the river zone allowing year-round navigation. The town is 204 km south of the capital Nouakc ...

is under construction (due for completion in 2012).

Highways

Mauritania has only about of surfaced roads, of unsurfaced roads, and of unimproved tracks. The country's size and harsh climate make road maintenance and repair especially problematic. Overland travel is difficult and roadside assistance is almost nonexistent. Public transportation is not safe and road conditions in Mauritania are poor, particularly in the interior. Driving in Mauritania can be treacherous, and many Mauritanians drive without regard to traffic signs or rules. Roadway obstructions and hazards caused by drifting sand, animals, and poor roads often plague motorists.

International highways

The Cairo-Dakar Highway 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 ...

passes through Mauritania, linking Nouakchott to Rabat, Tangiers, Algiers, and Tripoli. The section between the capital

and the port of

was paved by 2018; only a few kilometers remain unpaved at the Moroccan border :fr:Transport en Mauritanie. From Dakar there are links throughout

western Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

. The north-western end of the

Trans–West African Coastal Highway The Trans–West African Coastal Highway or TAH 7 is a transnational highway project to link 12 West African coastal nations, from Mauritania in the north-west of the region to Nigeria in the east, with feeder roads already existing to two landlock ...

is considered by the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...

(ECOWAS) to originate in Nouakchott.

Waterways

*Mostly

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

traffic on the

Senegal River The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...

Ports and harbors

Atlantic Ocean

(from north to south) *

Senegal River

* Kaedi * Bogue

Merchant marine

*None as of 2002.

Airports (paved)

See

Airports in Mauritania This is a list of airports in Mauritania, sorted by location. Airports Airport names shown in bold indicate the airport has scheduled service on commercial airlines. See also * Transport in Mauritania * List of airports by ICAO code: G#GQ ...

*9 in total (2002) *3 are of length 2,438 to 3,047 m *6 are of length 1,524 to 2,437 m By city: * Aioun el Atrouss *

Akjoujt Akjoujt (Arabic: أكجوجت) is a small city in western Mauritania. It is the capital of the Inchiri region. "Akjoujt" (ɑk'ʤuʤt) means 'wells'. The city's main industry is gold and copper mining. History Archeologists have discovered that ...

* Atar International * Bir Moghrein *

Abbaye An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...

Boutilimit Boutilimit () lies 164 km southeast of Mauritania's capital of Nouakchott. The estimated population in 2013 was 26,926. The town is also well known in the region for its production of handicraft items, particularly Carpet, rugs made from came ...

* Dahara Airport * Fderik *

Kaédi Kaédi () is the largest city and administrative center of the Gorgol Region of Southern Mauritania, located on the Mauritania–Senegal border, border with Senegal. It is approximately 435 km from Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott. Overview Th ...

Kiffa Kiffa () is a large town in the far south region of Mauritania, and the name of an administrative area within the local Assaba Region. Kiffa is located at , some from the coast and at the western end of the Aoukar sand sea of southern Mau ...

* Letfotar *

Néma Néma () is a town in southeastern Mauritania, close to the border with Mali. It is located at around at the eastern end of the Aoukar. It is the capital of Hodh Ech Chargui Region and of the Néma (department), Néma Department. While the u ...

* Nouadhibou International * Nouakchott (former airport) * Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International *

Sélibaby Sélibaby () is a capital town and department of the Guidimaka Region, in Mauritania. It is located at around . It is divided into a number of "quartiers" which include "College", "Silo", 'Ferlo", "Nezaha", "Saada", "El Jedidah", "Bambaradougou" ...

* Tamchakett *

Tichitt Tichit, or Tichitt (, ), is a village at the foot of the Tagant Plateau in central southern Mauritania that is known for its vernacular architecture and proximity to the Dhar Tichitt archaeological sites. The main agriculture in Tichit is date ...

Tidjikja Tidjikja () is the capital of the Tagant region of central Mauritania, lying on the Tagant plateau. Founded in 1680, it has a population of around 11,000 people. The town is known for its palm trees and its vernacular architecture. The town ...

* Timbedra * Tazadit.

Airports (unpaved)

See

*17 in total (2002) *2 are of length 2,438 to 3,047 m *5 are of length 1,524 to 2,437 m *7 are of length 915 to 1,523 m *3 are of length under 914 m

References

{{Africa in topic, Transport in