Somalia: Somalia Transportation Profile 2013

Inadequate transport facilities are a considerable impediment to Somalia’s economic development. There are no railways. Only about 1,800 miles (2,900 km) of paved roads are passable year-round, and in the rainy seasons most rural settlements are not accessible by motor vehicle.

Buses, trucks, and minibuses are the major means of transport for the people. In rural areas camels, cattle, and donkeys are still used for personal transportation and as pack animals.

Of 22,100 km (13,733 mi) of roads in Somalia in 2002, only 2,608 km (1,621 mi) were paved. A 1,054-km (655-mi) road constructed with Chinese financing and work crew participation, completed in 1978, tied together the northern and southern parts of the country for the initial time. Motor vehicles in use in 1995 numbered 24,000, divided equally between passenger cars and commercial vehicles. There are no railways and no commercial water transport facilities.

The ports of Mogadishu, Chisimayu, and Berbera are served by vessels from a lot of parts of the world, inclunding by Somali and Arab dhows. Mogadishu in recent years handled additional than 70% of Somalia's export and import traffic. In 1995, the national-owned shipping line operated two oceangoing vessels totaling 5,529 GRT. However, by 2002 no merchant marine existed.

In 2001, there were 54 airports, 6 of which had paved runways. The major airfields are in Mogadishu and Berbera. International air service has been provided by the national-owned Somali Airlines (part other carriers), which as well has regular flights connecting Mogadishu with regional centers and with Kenya, Djibouti, Sa'udi Arabia, the Comoros, Yemen, the Persian Gulf states, Frankfurt, Cairo, and Rome.

Civil Aviation: Eight paved civilian airfields; fewer than twenty additional widely-scattered gravel airfields. International airport at Mogadishu contains 4,500-meter runway. In 1990 domestic service linked Mogadishu with seven other Somali cities. Somali Airlines owned one Airbus 310 in 1989. No scheduled service existed in 1992.

Ports and Shipping: Four major ports: deepwater facilities at Berbera, Mogadishu, and Chisimayu; lighterage port at Merca; minor port at Maydh. Port modernization program launched in latter half of 1980s with United States aid significantly improved cargo handling capabilities at Chisimayu, and increased number of berths and deepened harbor at Berbera.