Shifting Gears: Unlocking Burundi’s Economic Potential with a High-Speed Transport Revolution

The most economical transport infrastructure, rail and lake transport, should be improved. This will make it possible to transport more people and goods at a lower cost while improving the level of trade not only for Burundi, but also for all of Central Africa. Furthermore, the transport sector in Africa would also benefit greatly from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The most economical transport infrastructure, rail and lake transport, should be improved. This will make it possible to transport more people and goods at a lower cost.

Most trade and engagements within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) will take place in Bujumbura. This is an opportunity for businessmen and Burundi will benefit greatly from it in the field of transport and trade. This was announced by Dieudonné Dukundane, the minister in charge of infrastructure on the sidelines of the 23rd COMESA summit held in Bujumbura between October 28 and 31, 2024. He confirmed that the railway project carried out in partnership with the Tanzania has already reached an advanced stage. “We plan to start work soon if everything goes well. We also hope that this railway will be extended to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That would be very beneficial.”

Dukundane also noted that Lake Tanganyika which connects Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania and Zambia is also a key element in the field of transport. “On the Zambian side, there is a railway section of about a hundred kilometers starting from Nseruka and leading to Mpulungu port. If this section were to be built as a railway, it would be of great benefit to Burundi following its geographical position located in the middle of Africa, because it would allow Burundians to export to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa and easily connect the Midwest. Africa to South Africa,” he added.

Strengthening air transport within COMESA would be an asset

According to Dukundane, air transport of passengers and goods should be developed. “It is essential that COMESA member countries as well as airlines come together to facilitate agreements between airlines and improve air transport.” Besides, the trip won’t be very long. For example, from South Africa via Eswatini and Zambia to Burundi, the journey takes about three hours by plane, while it takes two days to complete by road. So it will be difficult for COMESA to really increase the level of trade at a time when air transport of goods and passengers still faces obstacles.

How to boost the level of trade?

According to Dieudonné Dukundane, one of the reasons why the level of trade between COMESA countries is so high is that these countries transport a lot of goods at the same time (by train and by boat). This requires significant investments. This is why we strongly support opening up this sector so that the private sector can invest in it.

Transport modernization as part of the implementation of the AfCFTA

In transport services, estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from February 2022 show that the transport sector in Africa would benefit greatly from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). These estimates claim that Africa’s rail network is inadequate, but that is with the implementation of the Development Programmep infrastructure (PIDA) and other proposed projects increasing the network to almost 26,500 km. However, the AfCFTA requires 97,614 wagons for bulk and 20,668 wagons for containers by 2030. These figures increase to 132,857 and 36,482 wagons respectively if the proposed infrastructure projects are implemented action too.

These estimates also show that the African maritime network consists of 142 routes connecting 65 ports and representing 22.1% of intra-African freight transport. Therefore, the AfCFTA requires 126 ships for bulk goods and 15 ships for containers by 2030. As for the air transport network of the African continent, it includes a total of 14,762 air routes (which connect all airport with the other 121 airports). The implementation of the AfCFTA would make it possible to double the number of tonnes transported by air, from 2.3 to 4.5 million. Which means that air traffic should therefore double in 2030 compared to 2019.