View source for Transport in Malawi

{{Short description|none}}

'''Transportation in [[Malawi]]''' is poorly developed. The country of almost 23 million has 39&nbsp;[[airport]]s, 6 with paved runways and 33 with unpaved runways. It has {{convert|495|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=off}} of [[railway]]s, all [[narrow-gauge]] and about 45 percent of its roads are paved. Though it is [[landlocked]], Malawi also has {{convert|435|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} of [[waterway]]s on Lake Malawi and along the [[Shire River]].<ref>''The World Factbook'' CIA.
</ref>

== Highways ==
{{Main|Roads in Malawi}}
[[Image:Mzuzu.JPG|thumb|left|Road to [[Mzuzu]] through the Chikangawa man-made forest.]]
[[Image:A truck and some bananas in Northern Malawi.jpg|thumb|Truck on M1 near [[Karonga]].]]
Recent (c. 2009) assessments indicate that there were {{convert|9601|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} of roads in the country; of these, {{convert|4322|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} (45 percent) were paved. The remaining {{convert|5279|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} were not paved.<ref>{{cite web | title=Malawi Roads Map | work=National Roads Authority, Malawi | url=http://www.nra.malawi.net/all_roads.pdf | access-date=2009-03-24}} {{Dead link|date=November 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

== Ports, harbours and waterways==
[[Image:Malawi boat.jpg|thumb|left|Boat on Lake Malawi]]Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire River (144 kilometres) provide the major waterways. There is a [[railhead]] at the port of [[Chipoka]], Salima district in central Malawi. Smaller ports exist at [[Monkey Bay]], [[Nkhata Bay]], [[Nkhotakota]] and [[Chilumba]].
The [[MV Ilala]] connects [[Likoma Island]] with the mainland, as well as the Malawian and Mozambican sides of the lake.  In 2010, a port in [[Nsanje]] was opened to connect the country through the Shire and Zambezi rivers with the Indian Ocean. As of 2015, the port is not operational due to unresolved contracts with Mozambique.

== Air transport==
{{main|Malawian Airlines}}
'''Malawian Airlines Limited''' is the national airline of Malawi which operates regional passenger service. Based in [[Lilongwe]], it is 51% owned by the Malawi government. 49% are controlled by [[Ethiopian Airlines]]  The airline's main base of operations is [[Lilongwe International Airport]], with a secondary hub at [[Chileka International Airport]].

===Airports===
{{main|List of airports in Malawi}}
In 2001, there was a total of 44 airports in the country.
As of 2015, two airports have scheduled passenger services.

=== Paved runways ===
<br>''total:'' 6<br>''over 3,047 m:''
1
<br>''1,524 to 2,437 m:''1<br>''914 to 1,523 m:''
4 (2002)

=== Unpaved runways ===
<br>''total:'' 37<br>''1,524 to 2,437 m:''
1
<br>''914 to 1,523 m:''
14
<br>''under 914 m:''
22 (2002)

== Rail transport ==
{{main|Malawi Railways}}
{{further|Rail transport in Malawi}}
'''Malawi Railways''' is the national rail network in [[Malawi]], run by a government corporation until privatisation in 1999. As of 1 December 1999 the '''Central East African Railways''', a  consortium led by [[Railroad Development Corporation]], won the right to operate the network. This was the first rail privatisation in Africa which did not involve a parastatal operator.<ref name="RGI">{{cite magazine| url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2004/06/3652/a_luta_continua.html| title=A luta continua! | magazine=[[Railway Gazette International]] | first1=Bradley J|last1=Knapp|first2=Henry|last2=Posner III|author-link2=Henry Posner III|date=June 2004| access-date=2007-09-03 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184805/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2004/06/3652/a_luta_continua.html |archive-date = 2007-09-27}}</ref>

The rail network totalled 797 kilometres in 2001. It is a narrow gauge line with a {{RailGauge|1067mm}} track.

=== Railway links with adjacent countries ===
The {{convert|797|km|mi|adj=on}}, {{RailGauge|3ft6in|lk=on|first=met}} gauge line extends from the [[Zambia]]n border at [[Mchinji]] in the west via [[Lilongwe]] to [[Blantyre, Malawi|Blantyre]] and Makhanga in the south.  At [[Nkaya Junction]] it links with the [[Nacala railway|Nacala Corridor line]] going east via Nayuchi to [[Mozambique]]'s deepwater port at [[Nacala]] on the [[Indian Ocean]].  The [[Sena railway|link south]] from Makhanga to Mozambique's [[Beira, Mozambique|Beira]] corridor has been closed since the [[Mozambique Civil War]], with plans for reconstruction not yet realised.

There is no direct link with neighbouring [[Transport in Tanzania|Tanzania]] as there is a [[break of gauge]], {{RailGauge|1067mm}}/{{RailGauge|1000mm}} . An extension from [[Mchinji]] to [[Chipata]] in [[Zambia]] opened in 2010,<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/news-in-brief-40.html
|access-date=2010-09-26
|title=Railway Gazette: News in Brief
|archive-date=2010-10-01
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001190217/http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/news-in-brief-40.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> and there is a proposal to eventually link up from there with the TAZARA railway at [[Mpika]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.railwaysafrica.com/2010/06/chipata-railway-2/ |title=CHIPATA RAILWAY &#124; Railways Africa |access-date=2010-11-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606164216/http://www.railwaysafrica.com/2010/06/chipata-railway-2/ |archive-date=2010-06-06 }}</ref> Direct linkage is available with [[Transport in Mozambique|Mozambique]], however, which has the same gauge track. Linkage is called the Nacala Corridor line via Nayuchi to the port of [[Nacala]], and [[Nsanje]] to the [[Dona Ana Bridge]] and [[Beira, Mozambique|Beira]]. The latter link has not been operational since the war in Mozambique and is in need of reconstruction.

=== Rail developments in 2006 ===
In 2006, a Brazilian company ([[Vale (mining company)|VALE]]) announced plans to build a rail branch line to the [[Moatize]] coal mine in western Mozambique from the [[Nacala railway|Nacala Corridor line]] to export coal via the port of [[Nacala]]; the link would cross Malawi. The national [[Railroad Development Corporation]] map shows a proposed extension across the border to [[Chipata]] in [[Zambia]]. [[Central East African Railways]], previously a subsidiary of the Railroad Development Corporation, operates the privatised [[Malawi Railways]] network.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2004/06/3652/a_luta_continua.html| title=A luta continua| magazine=[[Railway Gazette International]] | first1=Bradley J|last1=Knapp|first2=Henry|last2=Posner III|author-link2=Henry Posner III|date=June 2004| access-date=2007-09-03 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184805/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news_view/article/2004/06/3652/a_luta_continua.html |archive-date = 2007-09-27}}</ref> Also in 2006, the president of Malawi, [[Bingu wa Mutharika]] asked his Mozambiquan counterpart, [[Armando Guebuza]], to consider the provision of a new 250 kilometre rail connection from [[Nsanje]] - the then-current southern extent of [[Malawi Railways]] - to the [[Indian Ocean]] port of [[Chinde]], near the mouth of the Zambesi.

== Communications ==
{{main|Communications in Malawi}}
As of 2007, there were 175,200&nbsp;[[land line]] [[telephone]]s in Malawi, and 1.051&nbsp;million [[cell phone]]s, which is approximately 8 cell phones per 100 people. The telephone system overall is described as rudimentary. In the past, Malawi's telecommunications system has been named as some of the poorest in Africa, but conditions are improving, with 130,000 land line telephones being connected between 2000 and 2007. Telephones are much more accessible in [[Urban area|urban]] areas, with less than a quarter of land lines being in [[rural]] areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uneca.org/aisi/NICI/country_profiles/malawi/malab.htm|title=Malawi|work=NICI in Africa|publisher=Economic Commission for Africa|access-date=2008-11-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410063206/http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/malawi/malab.htm|archive-date=2009-04-10}}</ref> There were 139,500&nbsp;[[Internet]] users as of 2007, and 3&nbsp;[[Internet service provider]]s as of 2002. As of 2001 there were 14&nbsp;[[radio station]]s and 1&nbsp;[[TV station]].<ref>The World Factbook. CIA.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[M3 road (Malawi)]]
{{commons category}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/malawi.pdf UN Map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009132149/http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/malawi.pdf |date=2018-10-09 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060427030710/http://www.rrdc.com/images/map_cear_cdn_new.jpg RRDC map]

{{Economy of Malawi}}
{{Africa in topic|Transport in}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Malawi}}
[[Category:Transport in Malawi| ]]