R 251632Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BANGUI
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0645
INFO AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 
AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 
AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 
AMEMBASSY PARIS 
AMEMBASSY BANGUI

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