New Railroad and Port Developments in East and Central Africa

Abstract

INCE 1945 the central and east territories have undergone an economic revolution. Their raw material exports have increased enormously, and all colonial governments have been concerned to develop their territories in order that they might contribute to the economic recovery of the West. These large developments have severely taxed the transport facilities of the continent, so that further development is inhibited in some areas by difficulties of communications.' A number of schemes are in hand, or under discussion, and should they all reach completion, a radicallydifferent transport pattern will have been created. The main developed areas of central Africa are remote from the sea, on the inland plateau of the continent. In this respect Africa differs markedly from, say, Australia or Latin America, where peripheral development is the rule. The developed areas of central Africa are almost equally accessible from a number of ports lying on both the east and west coasts of the continent. The present railroad system serving them springs from two origins: the great north railroad of Cecil Rhodes, linking central Africa with the Cape, and shorter lines to the east and west coasts where ports were created at Beira, Matadi, and Lobito to handle the traffic of the interior. The great north railroad terminates in the Congo, so that East Africa is served only by railroads from its own ports. This system developed about the turn of the century, and except for the Lob-ito and Matadi lines, has remained largely unaltered until the last few years (Fig. 1). The political partition of Africa presents an incongruous picture when viewed in relation to a map of economic development-a pattern governed by resources whose nature and distribution has come to be known more recently. Boundaries cross areas of common economic interest, and outlets to the sea lie not infrequently through the country of another power. Territorial interest has played a large part in shaping the pattern of communications, and also plays a large part in the partition of the trade of the. interior between the different outlets. Beira was developed by Rhodesian Railways and remains their principal port, though an agreement with South Railways regulates the degree of preference they may give to this port. Very low port rates operate between South ports and the Rhodesias for many commodities; thus Port Elizabeth in particular imports large quantities of goods for the Rhodesias, notwithstanding its dis1 W. Marshall Clark, African development curbed by transport difficulties, Optima, II, 2, June, 1952, 1-5.