Transportation and telecommunications
The difficult terrain and heavy rainfall in the south have challenged the development and maintenance of an adequate transportation network. The north has traditionally been isolated from the south, and transportation infrastructure is more developed in some regions than in others.
A major project was the completion of the first all-weather highway from Yaoundé to the commercial centre at Douala and between Yaoundé and the western high plateau. Another road-building program was completed in the Bertoua region in the southeast in 1986. Since the late 1990s the privatization of road maintenance and increasing foreign investment have contributed to the development of the country’s roads. Approximately one-tenth of Cameroon’s roadways are paved.
The rail system nearly doubled in track length between 1965 and 1985, with the extension of the main line from Yaoundé to Ngaoundéré in the first and second phases of the Trans-Cameroon Railway and the extension of the short branch of the western line to Kumba. The rail line from Douala to Yaoundé was shortened and realigned in a modernization program.
Douala, the main port, is located on the estuary of the Wouri River and accounts for the majority of Cameroonian port traffic. One of the best-equipped ports in western Africa, it has docks for cargo ships, including a wood-loading dock and a tanker dock with adjacent facilities for the unloading and storage of minerals. Under the IMF-guided structural adjustment program initiated in the late 20th century, many of the port activities were placed under private control. Douala handles most of the goods that are traded by Chad and the Central African Republic; roads and the railroad serve as the main arteries of transport to those countries. Other ports include those at Kribi, located at the mouth of the Kienké River; Limbe, on Ambas Bay; and Garoua, along the Benue River.
There are a number of international airports located throughout Cameroon; the main international airport is located at Douala, although Yaoundé and Garoua also handle international flights. The generally poor quality of the Cameroonian road system has encouraged the proliferation of domestic air service; domestic airports include those at Tiko, Ngaoundéré, Bafoussam, Bamenda, Maroua, Ebolowa, Bertoua, and Batouri, as well as numerous airfields. Cameroon Airlines provides domestic service and routes to European and African cities, although mismanagement and massive debt have affected its ability to deliver those services.
Only a fraction of the population has access to fixed-line telephone service. Equipment is aged and connections are generally unreliable. Partly as a result, the adoption of mobile cellular telephones is widespread.