2.3 Burundi Road Network

Distance Matrix Road Security Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits Road Class and Surface Conditions Burundi main corridors in country Burundi Transport corridors

Burundi has a road network of nearly 12,000 kilometers. According to the Highways Authority, the inland road network consists of a network of 4,456 km of classified roads (i.e., the maintenance of the Highways Office), including 22 national roads with a linear 1952 km and 91 provincial roads with a total linear of 2522 km. Of the classified roads, 1647 km of roads are paved, compared to 305 km unpaved.

Three categories of roads are identified. First, the national roads (RN) that connect provincial leaders with each other and with the borders. Then comes the 2,522 km provincial roads that connect the chiefs of the communes with each other and with the provincial chiefs. Finally, there are communal roads of a length of 2,587 kilometers, very strategic, which connect hills, municipalities and provinces. The unclassified network, which is the responsibility of local authorities, comprises 6,150 km of roads of communal interest and agricultural trails, and 462 km of road inside Bujumbura. (Source: link)

Most of the roads were built between the 1960s and 1990s. Natural disasters, especially with landslides, the civil war that lasted nearly fifteen years, and the lack of maintenance have damaged the network.

In terms of quality, according to the Office of Roads, 17% of national roads are in very good condition, 11% in good condition, 26% in average condition and 46% in poor condition. Of the provincial roads, 8.6 km by 2522 km are paved and in very good condition, the rest being in poor condition (65% of the roads). Despite maintenance problems, more than 1500 km or nearly 80% of the linear of national roads is paved. Some localities, however very strategic economically, are difficult to reach. For roads whose responsibility for maintenance lies with local authorities, a significant part is in deplorable condition, as the municipalities do not have enough budget allocated to this task.

Roads are expensive for the taxpayer. For example, only one km of the coated pavement of the Kirundo-Gasenyi section on the RN14 cost $466,111.97 for Muyinga-Cankuzo one km is estimated at $5,553,387 the coated km of Nyanza Lake-Mabanda-Mugina on the RN3 is equivalent to $1,230,897

Burundi is a and its trade, both local and international, depends mainly on the road network. In fact, 80% of the country's trade takes place internationally, compared to 20% for the national level.

According to the Highways Office, three main Corridors connect Burundi to the international ports of Mombasa and Dar-Es-Salaam respectively in Kenya and Tanzania. This is the northern corridor that connects Bujumbura to Mombasa via the cities of Nairobi in Kenya, Kampala in Uganda and in for about 2040 km; the central corridor that connects Bujumbura to Dar-Es-Salam via Kobero for a distance of 1630 km. Finally, the north-south corridor connects Rwanda (Bugarama) to Tanzania (Kigoma) via the borders of Ruhwa and Mugina. The latter is new and replaces the southern corridor via Lake Tanganyika. The length of Burundi's road network on these corridors is summarized in the following table.

Page 1 Corridor Linear Number of Routes

North 116 Km 1

Central 238 Km 5

North - South 248 Km 2

In terms of road length, Burundi is the most deprived country of road infrastructure. The country has an average of almost half a kilometer of road per km2. Rwanda and Kenya are in second and third place respectively with 350 meters and 280 meters per km2 respectively. Uganda has a road density of 230 meters for every square kilometer. Tanzania is the least developed country in this area with about 40 meters of road for each km2.

Burundi Rwanda Kenya Uganda Tanzania

25,680 24,670 569,140 200,520 885,800 Land Surface (km2)

Road network (km) 11,976 5,715 160,886 70,746 33,495

0.47 0.35 0.28 0.23 0.04 Quantity/surface (km/km2)

The ease of import and export is the most important indicator for assessing the quality of transport. It is measured by meeting deadlines in the documentation requirement and procedures. The longer the time spent on borders and barriers, the worse the quality. In terms of exports, for example, the time frame for Burundi and Tanzania (120 hours) is low for Kenya (7 p.m.). In terms of import times, they are higher in Tanzania (264 hours) and Burundi (180 hours), and shorter in Rwanda (72 hours). The following table provides a comparison of documentation requirements for EAC member countries.

Country Export Time Import Time

Burundi 120 180

Kenya 19 84

Uganda 64 138

Rwanda 42 72

Tanzania 120 264

Source : http://akeza.net/un-reseau-routier-dense-au-burundi-quel-potentiel-pour-le-developpement-du-pays/

Although the roads are economically strategic for Burundi, administrative procedures to facilitate cross-border traffic are still very cumbersome compared to most other ECA countries. To overcome this challenge, the modernization of control equipment is more than necessary because time has a direct impact on the cost of transport.

Distance Matrix

Bujumbura Bubanza Bururi Cibitoke Cankuzo Makamba Muramvya Muyinga Kayanza Kirundo Karusi Mwaro Gitega

43 106 61 216 167 48 199 94 197 158 66 100 Bujumbura

43 167 51 256 204 87 180 75 178 185 109 140 Bubanza

106 167 168 187 37 119 183 201 245 148 84 90 Bururi

61 51 168 281 228 109 188 83 197 219 127 161 Cibitoke

216 256 187 281 166 168 60 167 126 107 148 116 Cankuzo

167 204 37 228 166 156 220 238 282 185 12 127 Makamba

48 87 119 109 168 156 143 55 150 110 46 52 Muramvya

199 180 183 188 60 220 143 185 64 48 139 93 Muyinga

94 75 201 83 167 238 55 185 103 112 101 118 Kayanza

197 178 245 197 126 282 150 64 103 94 171 155 Kirundo

Page 2 158 185 148 219 107 185 110 48 112 94 104 116 Karusi

66 109 84 127 148 12 46 139 101 171 104 46 Mwaro

100 140 90 161 116 127 52 93 118 155 116 46 Gitega

128 107 233 115 135 270 86 73 32 71 78 104 84 Ngozi

138 181 80 200 137 51 127 182 185 207 130 98 69 Rutana

170 210 138 232 49 138 119 109 174 176 99 93 77 Ruyigi

Road Security

Burundi does not have any specialized service for road accident prevention even though road accident statistics are on the rise each year. The various services responsible for road safety are non-operational and lack coordination, and road safety information sources are unreliable. Insurance companies are the only reliable sources of information in matters relating to car accidents.

The National Road Agency being responsible for road infrastructure contributes to improve the situation, especially by considering aspects of road safety regarding both technical designing of infrastructure and the maintenance thereof.

Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits

Different axle load and gross vehicle mass (weight) limits is the current practice among the partner states within the EA region. Burundi and Rwanda still at early stages of developing laws and regulations to control vehicle overloading while Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have more advanced laws and regulations - but differences in training of personnel and operational practices occur

Countries in the East African Community will have to uniform the laws on vehicle weight limits in less than a year.

This comes after member states reached consensus on commercial vehicle loading and management strategies. The forum resolved to apply consistent axle load limit of 56 tons on seven standard axles in all partner states.

Kenya allows a maximum of 48 tons for vehicles, Rwanda and Burundi 53 tons while Tanzania and Uganda allow 56 tons,

Kenya had initially opposed the adjustment and insisted on between 48 and 52 tons. While Tanzania and Uganda axle limits stand at 56 tons, Rwanda and Burundi limit stood at 53 tons.

Transport and infrastructure experts from EAC will now prepare a memorandum on the agreement for consideration by the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communication and Metrology on October 10, and a requisite bill prepared for enactment by early next year.

Type DRC Kenya Tanzania

Truck with 2 axles 18,000 kg 18,000 kg 18,000 kg

Truck with 3 axles 24,000 kg 26,000 kg 26,000 kg

Semi-trailer with 3 axles 28,000 kg 28,000 kg 28,000 kg

Truck with 4 axles 28,000 kg 30,000 kg 28,000 kg

Semi-trailer and drawbar with 4 axles 36,000 kg 36,000 kg 36,000 kg

Semi-trailer with 6 axles 44,000 kg 50,000 kg 54,000 kg

Truck & drawbar trailer with 5 axles 50,000 kg 44,000 kg 45,000 kg

Vehicle and semi-trailer with total of 6 axles 37,000 kg 50,000 Kg 54,000 kg

Truck & drawbar trailer with 6 axles 45,000 kg 52,000 kg 53,000 kg

NB: for Burundi, axle load limitation figures are not yet implemented

There is a plan to harmonize axle weight limit in all EAC countries. Typically, payload may not exceed 30MT for a truck of 6 axles.

For more information, please visit the following link.

Road Class and Surface Conditions

Classification Administrant Agency Network Length

Page 3 22 National Roads OdR 1952 km

91 Provincial Roads OdR 2522 km

Communal Roads OdR 2587 km

Urban Roads (Out of Bujumbura) OdR 325 km

Classification Description

Road Category Total Length (km) Unpaved (Km) Paved (Km)

National Roads 1,952 305 1,647

Provincial Roads 2,522 2,501 21

Communal Roads 2587 2587 0

Urban Network (Bujumbura only) 462 0 462

Total Unclassified Network 6,150

National Road (RN) Road with international links to Bujumbura and the major towns. (Bitumen surfacing and gravel)

Provincial Road (RP) Roads used for intra and inter provincial travel. Bitumen/ gravel.

Communal Road (RC) Roads in the rural areas.

Urban Road Road network in towns.

Burundi main corridors in country

-KOBERO-GITEGA-BUJUMBURA

-GASENYI-NGOZI-BUJUMBURA

-KANYARU-KAYANZA-BUJUMBURA

-RUHWA-BUJUMBURA

-MUGINA-NYANZA-LAC-BUJUMBURA

Burundi Transport corridors

Northern corridor: Mombasa-Kampala-Kigali-Bujumbura

Central corridor: Dar-Es-Salaam-Kabanga-Bujumbura

Southern corridor: Mpulungu (Zambia)-Kigoma-Bujumbura

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