Nkayi, also known as N'kayi, is a town and a commune in the

Bouenza Department Bouenza (can also be written as ''Buenza'' or ''Bwenza'') is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department of the Republic of the Congo in the southern part of the country. It borders the departments of Lékoumou Department, Lékoumou, Ni ...

of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. It is the country's fourth largest city with a population of 104,083 (2023 census). It is divided into 2 urban boroughs (''arrondissements''): # Mouana-Nto (Mouana Ntô) # Soulouka Nkayi is a major

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

production centre in the country.

Transport

The city is served by a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the national

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

network, the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is home to Yokangassi Airport, also known as Nkayi Airport.

History

Situated in the fertile Niari Valley, the town was named Jacob in 1887. That was the name of the French engineer who led the first mission to select the best route for the Congo-Ocean Railway. Then the city began growing thanks to the thriving

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantations led by important agroindustries. In 1975, Jacob had a population of 25,000, and its name was changed to the native one of Nkayi. The city is the fourth largest town in the Republic of the Congo since 1980.

References

* Decalo S., Thompson V. & Adloff R. 1984. ''Historical dictionary of Congo'' Pg 218–219. USA: The Scarecrow Press, Inc {{Authority control Bouenza Department Communes of the Republic of the Congo Populated places in the Republic of the Congo

Transport

History

See also

References