View source for Transport in Burundi

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There are a number of systems of '''transport in Burundi''', including road and water-based infrastructure, the latter of which makes use of [[Lake Tanganyika]].  Furthermore, there are also some airports in [[Burundi]].

Burundi has limited ferry services on Lake Tanganyika, few road connections to neighboring countries, no rail connections, and only one airport with a paved runway. Public transport is extremely limited and private bus companies operate buses on the route to Kigali, Uganda, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo.<ref name="bus-planet_com">Bus Planet, Buses in Burundi, http://www.bus-planet.com/bus/bus-africa/Burundi-site/index.html</ref>

== Roads ==
Roads total {{convert|12322|km}} as of 2004. On paper, there are 90 public buses in the country but few of these are operational. Transport is extremely limited, and private bus companies operate buses on the route to Kigali, Uganda, Tanzania or the Democratic Republic of Congo.<ref name="bus-planet_com" />

== Waterways ==
[[Lake Tanganyika]] is used for transport, with the major [[port]] on the lake being the [[Port of Bujumbura]]. Most <!-- money --> freight is transported down waterways.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mugumyankiko|first1=Emmanuel|title=The critical importance of access to the sea to the development of Burundi|url=http://commons.wmu.se/gma_disserations/1|website=General Maritime Administration Dissertations|publisher=General Maritime Administration Dissertations|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref>

As of May 2015, [[MV Mwongozo]], a passenger and cargo ferry, connects Bujumbura with [[Kigoma]] in Tanzania.<ref>World Travel Guide, Travel to Burundi, http://www.worldtravelguide.net/burundi/travel-by</ref>

== Airports and air services ==
[[File:Bujumbura International Airport.jpg|thumb|Arrival at Bujumbura International Airport]]
Burundi possesses [[List of airports in Burundi|eight airport]]s, of which one has paved [[runway]]s, whose length exceeds 3,047m. [[Bujumbura International Airport]] is the country's primary airport and the country's only airport with a paved runway. There are also a number of helicopter landing strips.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.traveldojo.com/burundi/#getting-there-away|title=Burundi Travel Guide|website=www.traveldojo.com|access-date=2018-12-26}}</ref>

As of May 2015, the airlines serving Burundi are: [[Brussels Airlines]], [[Ethiopian Airlines]], [[flydubai]], [[Kenya Airways]], and [[RwandAir]]. [[Kigali International Airport|Kigali]] is the city with the most daily departures.

== Railways ==
Burundi does not possess any [[railway]] infrastructure, although there are proposals to connect Burundi to its neighbours via railway.

At a meeting in August 2006 with members of the [[Rwanda Patriotic Front]], [[Wu Guanzheng]], of the [[Chinese Communist Party]], confirmed the intention of [[China]] to fund a study into the feasibility of constructing a railway connecting at [[Isaka]] with the existing [[Tanzania]]n railway network, and running via [[Kigali]] in [[Rwanda]] through to Burundi.<ref>{{cite web|title=China to Assist Rwanda|url=http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2006/09/china-to-assist-rwanda/|work=www.railwaysafrica.com|publisher=Railways Africa|access-date=21 September 2012}}</ref>  Tanzanian railways use {{RailGauge|1000mm|allk=on}}, although [[TAZARA]] and other neighbouring countries, including the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (DRC) use the {{RailGauge|3ft6in|lk=on}} gauge, leading to some potential difficulties.

Another project was launched in the same year, which aims to link Burundi and Rwanda (which also has no railways) to the DRC and [[Zambia]], and therefore to the rest of Southern Africa. At a meeting to inaugurate the [[Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority]] (NCTTCA), the governments of Uganda and Burundi backed the proposed new railway from the Ugandan western [[railhead]] at [[Kasese]] into the DRC.

Additionally, Burundi has been added to a planned railway project to connect Tanzania and Rwanda. In January 2022, the governments of Burundi and Tanzania announced the planned construction of an electrified [[Standard-gauge railway|standard gauge railway]], which will link the two countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-17 |title=Tanzania, Burundi sign multimillion-dollar SGR deal |url=https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/business/tanzania-burundi-sign-railway-deal-3685278 |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=The Citizen |language=en}}</ref> The line is known as the [[Tanzania–Burundi Standard Gauge Railway]].

=== 2013 ===
A project started in November 2013 to build a [[Standard Gauge]] line from [[Mombassa]], Kenya, to Burundi, via Rwanda and Uganda.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-25134276 Kenya launches new railway to reach South Sudan and Burundi], BBC News, 28 November 2013.</ref> The main line from Mombasa will also feature branches in other directions, including Ethiopia and DR Congo.

== See also ==
* [[East African Railway Master Plan]]

== External links ==
* [https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/burundi.pdf UN Map of Burundi]
*[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Af.nsf/luFullMap/BC0EF176D6BCADE385256C0800474100/$File/wfp_safr_rails0702.pdf?OpenElement Map of railways in southern Africa]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{CIA World Factbook}}
{{Economy of Burundi}}
{{Africa in topic|Transport in}}
{{Africa in topic|Rail transport in}}
{{Burundi topics}}

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[[Category:Transport in Burundi| ]]