Transport in Vanuatu
Vanuatu's undeveloped road system, with fewer than 100 miles of paved roads, consists mostly of dirt tracks suitable only for four-wheel-drive vehicles.[1] Every island has one or two short airstrips where Vanair’s Twin Otter planes land two or three times weekly.[1] In addition, every island has a small port or wharf where small cargo ships and boats regularly dock.[1]
After arrival on an island, transportation is usually via pickup truck, foot, or small boat.[1] Bicycles are becoming popular in Vanuatu. Port Vila and Luganville have numerous taxis and mass-transit vans.[1] There are no railways in Vanuatu, although there was a small rail line on Efate during the colonial era.[2]
Vanuatu's main harbors are Forari, Port-Vila, Santo (Espiritu Santo).[2]
Modes of transport
Highways:[2]
total:
1,070 km
paved:
256 km
unpaved:
814 km (1996 est.)
Merchant marine:
total:
78 ships (1,000 GT or over) totaling 1,266,634 GT/1,618,877 tonnes deadweight (DWT)
ships by type:
bulk 27, cargo 24, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 1, liquified gas 4, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 9, vehicle carrier 6 (1999 est.)
note:
a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 15 countries among which are ships of Japan 28, India 10, US 10, Greece 3, Hong Kong 3, Australia 2, Canada 1, China 1, and France 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 32 (1999 est.) (See Bauerfield International Airport.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total:
3
2,438 to 3,047 m:
1
1,524 to 2,437 m:
1
914 to 1,523 m:
1 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total:
29
1,524 to 2,437 m:
1
914 to 1,523 m:
11
under 914 m:
17 (1999 est.)
References
- The Peace Corps Welcomes You to Vanuatu Archived 2008-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. Peace Corps (May 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- CIA World Factbook
External links
