RIVER TRANSPORT IN CAR

UNCLAS BANGUI 000102


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EWWT EAGR ECON CT CG CF
SUBJECT: RIVER TRANSPORT IN CAR


1. 1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Despite its abundant water resources,
the CAR has a very limited river transport network. The goods
transport on the Oubangui River, very profitable until the
1980s, became marginal as result of the poor maintenance of the
waterways. Fuel continues to be the major import into the CAR,
while cattle remains the major export to the two Congos.
Although SOCATRAF is the major player of the sector, its limited
equipment and poor infrastructure constitute its main
constraints. END SUMMARY.


Potential


2. (U) The Central African Republic is drained by two
river systems; the Congo basin flowing into the Congo River and
the Chadian basin flowing into Lake Chad. The major rivers of
the Congo basin in Central Africa are the Oubangui, the Sangha
and the Lobaye. The lower Oubangui River from Bangui to
Brazzaville and Kinshasa is the country's principal waterway.
The 1,200 km Oubangui-Congo route benefits from a more or less
navigable period of 8.5 months while the Sangha and Lobaye are
navigable 7 and 5 months, respectively. The Sangha River, one of
the Congo's major tributaries, allows traffic of 25 to 30-ton
small boats from Bayanga located in southern CAR to Mossaka and
Ouesso in Congo Brazzaville. The upper Oubangui navigation is
only possible for 3 or 4 months from Bangui to Mobaye located
378 km in the east.


3. (U) The Chadian basin waterways' major river is the
Chari. The Chari River is the principal Chad Lake tributary,
representing 95% of the basin's water supply. It is navigable
year-round only with small boats. According to the Deputy
Director of SOCATRAF, the major Central African river transport
operator, the Chari River's other important tributaries such as
the Bar-Aouk, Bamingui and Ouham Rivers could be navigable if
properly maintained, despite obstacles such as sandbanks, mud
banks and reefs.


CAR lacks river port


4. (U) Bangui is the principal port in the Central
African Republic, and is composed of three different facilities,
including the Upper Port, Lower Port and Fuel Port along the
Oubangui River. Bangui's fuel port is specifically designed for
petroleum storage. Nonetheless, substantial loading and
unloading activities of various goods including palm oil, fish,
meat and other food products sold on Bangui markets takes place
in Zinga, the second largest port after Bangui, located 75 km
downstream at the intersection of the Oubangui and Lobaye
Rivers. There is no other port on the Oubangui River, nor on the
Chari River and its tributaries. The Sangha River's main ports
are located in Nola and Salo.


River transport took root during colonial era


5. (U) River transport enjoyed significant development
during the colonial era until 1969, with private, or sometimes
public, French companies operating in the sector. River
transport development work changed to African ownership when the
French-owned Compagnies Generale de Transports en Afrique
Centrale (CGTAC) was nationalized in 1969 and became Agence
Centrafricaine des Communications Fluviales (ACCF). After ten
years of operations ACCF faced serious management problems. It
was privatized and SAGA Transports, a French company bought 49%
of the share capital. The new company became the present-day
Societe Centrafricaine des Transports Fluviaux (SOCATRAF). Since
2005, SOCATRAF has been controlled by another French company,
BOLLORE, with 66% ownership, the Central African Government and
local private investors holding 15% and 19% respectively of the
shares.


Various river transport partners failed to perform properly


6. (U) The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation
shapes the Government's river transport development policy and
strategy in coordination with various stakeholders, including
SOCATRAF, the Service Commun d'Entretien des Voies Navigables
(SCEVN) and other regional partners. The SCEVN is a common
entity to the Central African Republic and Republic of
Congo-Brazzaville, and is tasked by the two countries to dredge
the Oubangui, Congo, Sangha and Lobaye rivers, as well as to
mark the routes, and update information and maps along the
sub-region's waterways. SCEVN's major revenues come from river
transport taxes and renting miscellaneous equipment and services
to other river operators. The SCEVN's revenues remain
insufficient, which prevents it from maintaining the waterways
properly.


7. (U) SOCATRAF is the major river transport operator
with more than 210 staff members, vital equipment and
infrastructure to transport passengers and various goods. It
also has good connections in the sub-region. Although SOCATRAF
is the major river transport player in the Central African
Republic, it does not have the monopoly of river transport.
Other operators include small artisan companies operating with
pirogues equipped with outboard motors. They are usually
involved in passenger but also goods transportation. This serves
villages and cities along the Oubangui, Sangha or Lobaye rivers.
However, passenger transport demands remains unmet due to
SOCATRAF's limited capacity for passenger ferries.


8. (U) The sub-regional river operators are ATC in
Congo-Brazzaville and SONATRA in the DRC. ATC operates on the
Oubangui and Congo rivers, transporting passengers and various
commercial goods. We understand that ATC's infrastructures and
fleet experienced serious destruction during the civil war that
took place from 1998 to 2000 in Congo Brazzaville. SONATRA is
the major DRC river transport operator and plays the same role
as SOCATRAF in the CAR and ATC in Congo Brazzaville. SONATRA has
an important fleet, specifically adapted to the navigation on
Congo River, which has more water volume and faster flow
compared to the Oubangui.


River transport progressively marginalized


9. (U) Until the 1970s, river transport facilitated
around 80% of the country's commercial exchanges. During the
1980s, at least 76% of external transactions used river
transport coupled with a rail link from Brazzaville to the
seaport in Pointe Noire, while 22% used roads and 2% airplanes.
Wood, coffee, cotton, tobacco and various products were exported
via the Oubangui River as well as all manufactured products
entering the country. Starting from the 1990s, deteriorating
river transport services in the Brazzaville port in particular
combined with the political crisis in the two Congos led the
Central African exporters of various products to abandon
waterways and to favor the Cameroonian road to Douala's port,
despite high costs. Wood exporters were the first to make this
decision after their timber stocks were abandoned in Brazzaville
port for several years without reaching Pointe Noire. Many of
these logging companies even built their own roads in order to
reach Douala. According to officials at SOCATRAF, the main
products exported via river transport at this time are cattle
and livestock, which are in demand in Brazzaville's and
Kinshasa's markets, while boats carry fuel and cement from
Kinshasa to the CAR. During 2006, SOCATRAF transported more than
5,400 cattle to the Congo markets. Their statistics show that
out of a total of 49,211 tons of imported goods, fuel represents
more than 81%.


Fuel Problems


10. (SBU) The Sangha River's main port in Salo has an
important fuel storage facility. However, this fuel storage
facility is not stocked, putting the country at fuel shortage
risk. The Central African Government adopted a decree in
December 2005 requiring that at least 80% of fuel imported into
the country be transported by via river and 20% by road from
Cameroon. The rationale behind this decision was to guarantee
the country's fuel supply at a continued low cost. Nonetheless,
the CARG and the Total company have been negotiating over the
first part of 2007 on the company's profit as measured per
liter, negotiations which have stalled after the CARG accused
Total of negotiating in bad faith. The Government also accused
Total of neglecting storage facilities in Bangui and in the
north of the country, accusations that date to previous Petroca
fuel storage projects which Total did not complete.


11. (SBU) COMMENT: Whatever the value of the CARG's
arguments against Total, the conflict clouded the business
environment in Bangui, and has brought suspicions that the one
major European airline in the country would stop flying to
C.A.R. because of the lack of reliable fuel. Our understanding
is that the CARG/Total dispute is now resolved. END COMMENT


SOCATRAF is facing serious constraints


12. (U) Though SOCATRAF controls most major river
transport activities, most of its equipment is outdated. It also
lacks modernized ports. Zinga port, located 75 km from Bangui,
is the only port on the Oubangui River before Brazzaville. Many
of SOCATRAF's equipment and infrastructures in Bangui were
destroyed during the mutinies the Central African Republic
experienced in 1996 and 1997. Also, the decrease in the river
traffic in favor of the roads impacted and will continue to
impact negatively the profitability of river transport. In
addition to its limited infrastructure and equipment, it is also
facing the impossibility of navigation from Brazzaville to the
sea port. As the various military forces' harassment on the
rivers are concerned, officials at SOCATRAF noted that it
decreased significantly on the Central African portion of the
river while their boat crews continue to report continued
harassment in both DRC and Congo-Brazzaville.


Encouraging prospects exist, but...


13. (SBU) According to the deputy director at SOCATRAF,
prospects in the river transport are encouraging. European Union
and France granted SOCATRAF via the Central African Government
respectively Euros 4 million and 5 million over three years for
port infrastructure improvements and acquisition of new
equipment. He noted that new development activities in the
mineral sector (gold, diamond and uranium) would contribute to
increase the country's demand of fuel. As evidence, he mentioned
a special request of 28,000 m3 in 2008 from Aurafrique, a
Canadian mineral company operating in Bambari area. Uramines,
formerly a South African firm and recently bought by the French
mining parastatal Areva, is exploring uranium in Bakouma, and
expressed its need for substantial quantity of fuel for their
operations in the coming years. However, these companies are
facing their own disputes with the CARG over the terms of their
agreements.

COOK