Transport in Cape Verde - Types of Transport

Types of Transport

Railways: 0 km - There are no railways in Cape Verde, although there was a short overhead conveyor system for salt from the open salt lake on Sal to the port at Pedro de Lume and a short stretch of rail track to the pier at Santa Maria used for a similar purpose. Both are now disused.

Roadways:
total: 10,000 km including unpaved tracks accessible only to four wheel drive vehicles
asphalt: 360 km
cobbled: 5,000 km (2007 estimates)

The majority of Cape Verdean roads are paved with cobblestones cut from local basalt. Recent international aid has allowed the asphalting of a few roads, such as part of the highway between Tarrafal and Praia on Santiago and the dual carriageway between Santa Maria and Espargos on Sal. A new ring road has been built from Praia International Airport around the city of Praia.

The primary method of intercity and inter-village transport for Cape Verdeans is by aluguer shared taxis, commonly called Iass. Few Cape Verdeans own cars, but ownership is rising rapidly with increasing prosperity, particularly on Santiago Island.

Ports and harbors: Mindelo on São Vicente is the main port for cruise liners and the terminus for the ferry service to Santo Antão. A marina for yachts is undergoing enlargement (2007). Praia on Santiago is a main hub for local ferry services to other islands. Palmeira on Sal supplies fuel for the main airport on the island, Amílcar Cabral International Airport, and is important for the hotel construction taking place on the island. Porto Novo on Santo Antão is the only source for imports and exports of produce from the island as well as passenger traffic since the closure of the airstrip at Ponta do Sol. There are smaller harbors, essentially single jetties at Tarrafal on São Nicolau, Sal Rei on Boa Vista, Vila do Maio (Porto Inglês) on Maio, São Filipe on Fogo and Furna on Brava. These act as terminals for the inter island ferry services which carry both freight and passengers. There are very small harbors, with protective breakwaters, essentially used by fishing boats at Tarrafal on Santiago, Pedra de Lume on Sal and Ponta do Sol on Santo Antão. Some offer suitable protection for small yachts on passage. The pier at Santa Maria on Sal used by both fishing and dive boats has been rehabilitated.

Merchant marine:
total: 10
ships by type: chemical tanker 1, trawler/cargo ship 5, passenger/cargo 5
foreign-owned: 2 (Spain 1, UK 1) (2008)

Airports

• 8 operational (2010) of which 4 international and 4 national.
• 2 inoperational, one on Brava and the other on Santo Antão, closed for safety reasons.

• Over 3,047 m: 1
• 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
• 914 to 1,400 m: 3
• Under 914 m: 2 (2010)

Main International Airports:

• Amílcar Cabral International Airport, Sal Island
• Praia International Airport, Santiago Island
• Rabil Airport, Boa Vista Island
• Sao Pedro Airport, Sao Vicente, Cape Verde

International passenger traffic is forecast to exceed 250,000 passengers for the year 2007. Annual growth, mostly of tourists from Europe is anticipated to continue at just under 20%. (Source ASA Cape Verde airport authority)

Main Airlines serving the country:

• TACV Cabo Verde Airlines
• Cabo Verde Express Cape Verde Express
• Halcyonair Cabo Verde Airways
• TAP Portugal

TACV flies daily international flights from Lisbon to Sal or Praia and once a week from Amsterdam, Munich, Paris, Las Palmas, Fortaleza and Boston to one or other of the international airports. It operates on a frequency varying from daily to thrice weekly on inter-island flights to each of the seven islands with operational airports and also to Dakar. It has a fleet of two Boeing 757s and three ATR42s have been replaced by ATR72s. It is currently (2010) undergoing privatization at the insistence of the World Bank.