Water
Benin's waterways are navigable along small sections, but are only locally important. There are two ports in Benin, Cotonou, a railhead, and Porto-Novo. The country does not have a merchant marine.
As of 2004, Benin had only 150 km of navigable waterways, which consisted of its portion of the Niger River, which forms the country's northern border. Regular transportation services from Parakou to Malanville and thence to Niamey (in Niger), either by road or, in the season when the Niger River is navigable, by river steamer, are important for the movement of produce to and from Niger via Cotonou, Benin's one port. Until 1965, the port was serviced by a wharf built in 1891. In 1965, a new deepwater port, constructed with French and European Development Fund assistance and capable of handling 1 million tons annually, was opened. In the mid-1980s, the port was expanded to handle 3 million tons a year.
Landlocked Niger has a free zone in the port area of Cotonou. Because of overcrowded conditions at the port of Lagos, Cotonou has served as a relief channel for goods destined for Nigeria. It also serves as the chief port for Niger. There is boat traffic on the lagoons between Porto-Novo and Lagos, Nigeria, as well as on the rivers.
Read more about this topic: Transport In Benin
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