The challenge is to get things moving

One of the major challenges that Madagascar faces is the need to improve its transport infrastructure. This is a major focus of the government’s efforts to combat poverty and promote economic growth, but given the huge costs involved external assistance is essential.
“We need infrastructure, because since independence, 50 percent of the roads have been destroyed, or fallen into disrepair,” says President Ravalomanana. “We have to rebuild. We put our trust in donors, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and others who are going to help us in the rehabilitation process and with building new highways, at an estimated cost of around $1.2 billion.”

Currently, less than 15 percent of Madagascar’s approximately 25,000 miles of road are paved, though that does include the vital link between the capital, Antananarivo, and the main port, Toamasina (often referred to as Tamatave). In the rainy season, many roads become impassable, and even at the best of times, progress can be slow. The economic cost in terms of time wasted is self-evident.

OLIVIER RAKOTOVAZAHA Former Minister of Transport and Meteorology

“The Ministry of Public Works and the Former Ministry of Transport have a joint program to build 1,000 miles of highway,” says the former Minister of Transport and Meteorology, Olivier Rakotovazaha. “This will help villages.”
The social element of transport is seen as crucial, if people are to broaden their horizons and develop their potential. The Malagasy people are deeply rooted in their own locality, and for a period of their history were actually forbidden to move. But improved communications are an essential factor in the country’s modernization scheme.

That includes the rehabilitation of the railway system inherited from the French colonial period. “We have two rail networks, one in the north and one in the south,” Mr. Rakotovazaha explains. “The United States, Britain, and Switzerland have contributed to the rehabilitation of the southern network. We put the northern contracts out to tender, and South Africans made the winning bid.”
Ports are also part of the government’s infrastructure master plan. “We have around 3,000 miles of coastline,” the Minister points out. “But we only have one international port: Tamatave. We really need one on the other side of the island, maybe at Majunga.”

Domestic air services are provided by a sole carrier, Air Madagascar, which is slated for privatization. “But given the situation following the 9/11 events, that will take two or three years,” Mr. Rakotovazaha says.
Airports are run by an autonomous body called Madagascar Civil Aviation (ACM). “ACM has been detached from the Ministry, because the government is following a policy of state disengagement, and encouraging the private sector,” the Minister explains. “ACM’s costs will be covered by airport fees, not by the Ministry.”
Madagascar has a dozen airports, and 40 smaller airstrips. But even Antananarivo’s airport is in urgent need of upgrading and runway extensions.