Sector group
Logistics and transport
Logistics in Gabon are organised around the port of Owendo, which handles most port activity outside crude oil, and the Trans-Gabon railway, the country's only rail line, running 648 km from Owendo to Franceville. A road network with limited paved sections and air transport revived by the national carrier Fly Gabon complete the system.
- Length of the Trans-Gabon railway (Owendo-Franceville)
- 648km
- Rail freight carried
- 8.9million tonnes, of which 8.4 minerals
- Trans-Gabon railway passengers
- 264,000passengers
Detailed sources in the key figures below.
Sectors in this group
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180,878 EVP
Road and rail routes, ports and border posts linking Gabon with its neighbours.
Container port traffic, 2024. Source: World Bank
Key figures
Key figures for logistics and transport
Length of the Trans-Gabon railway (Owendo-Franceville)
648 km
2026
Rail freight carried
8.9 million tonnes, of which 8.4 minerals
2024
Trans-Gabon railway passengers
264,000 passengers
2024
Manganese ore and sinter transported (Comilog)
6.1 million tonnes
2025
Container port traffic
180,878 TEU
2024
80 %
PNDT 2024-2026
Road network (excluding urban roads)
10,384 km, of which about 1,800 km paved
PNDT 2024-2026
Coastline
800 km
PNDT 2024-2026
Trans-Gabon railway modernisation and safety programme
203 million euros
2026
Reference series
Port of Owendo traffic
7,914.9 kt
2018
Source: Espaces Africains journal (peer-reviewed article)
Container port traffic
180,878 EVP
2024
Source: World Bank
Manganese ore production
7,103.0 kt
2025
Source: Eramet (Comilog)
Locations
- 9 provinces
- Estuaire, Haut-Ogooué, Moyen-Ogooué, Ngounié, Nyanga, Ogooué-Ivindo, Ogooué-Lolo, Ogooué-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem
Source: OCHA / Institut national de cartographie du Gabon (CC BY-IGO)
Provinces of the listed sites: port, airport, railway station.
Trends
Rail, the backbone of bulk transport
Built between 1974 and 1986, the Trans-Gabon railway has been operated since 2005 by Setrag (Société d'exploitation du Transgabonais), a subsidiary of the mining group Eramet, under a thirty-year concession. In 2019 the line reached record levels with 330,000 passenger journeys and about 7 million tonnes of freight. In 2024, according to Le Confidentiel, it carried nearly 8.9 million tonnes, including 8.4 million tonnes of minerals, and 264,000 passengers. Eramet reports that manganese ore transport remained stable at 6.1 million tonnes in 2025, a year affected by logistics difficulties, and targets 6.4 to 6.8 million tonnes in 2026.
A track upgrade programme (PRN) has been under way since December 2016, including 93 million euros in sovereign loans from the French Development Agency (AFD) and financing from Proparco and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the concession holder. By mid 2026, according to Le Confidentiel, 457 km of track had been renewed with concrete sleepers made in Booué. On 30 April 2026 the Council of Ministers approved a 203 million euro modernisation and safety programme (a 173 million euro AFD loan and a 30 million euro European Union grant).
Expanding ports
Container traffic at Gabonese ports rose from 148,003 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2020 to 180,878 TEU in 2024 according to the World Bank. The Owendo complex includes the commercial port, the New Owendo International Port, opened in 2017, and the mineral port connected to the railway. Port-Gentil has a commercial port and a mole port.
Roads and air
The PNDT 2024-2026 counts 10,384 km of roads, of which about 1,800 km are paved, and plans a programme law to modernise national roads, completion of projects halted since 2013 and rehabilitation of the Transgabonaise highway (Libreville-Ndjolé axis) in partnership with the Gabon motorway company (SAG). In air transport, the national carrier Fly Gabon was inaugurated on 29 August 2024 with ATR aircraft for domestic routes, alongside the airline Afrijet.
Port of Owendo traffic
Port of Owendo traffic (Gabon) went from 5,468.8 kt in 2011 to 7,914.9 kt in 2018.
| Period | Port of Owendo traffic (kt) |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 5,468.8 |
| 2012 | 5,024.7 |
| 2013 | 5,708.0 |
| 2014 | 6,225.5 |
| 2015 | 5,578.1 |
| 2016 | 5,394.3 |
| 2017 | 6,562.3 |
| 2018 | 7,914.9 |
Container port traffic
Container port traffic (Gabon) went from 153,657 EVP in 2010 to 180,878 EVP in 2024. The highest value was reached in 2014 (197,998 EVP).
| Period | Container port traffic (EVP) |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 153,657 |
| 2011 | 162,415 |
| 2012 | 168,912 |
| 2013 | 130,700 |
| 2014 | 197,998 |
| 2015 | 145,700 |
| 2016 | 146,000 |
| 2017 | 156,000 |
| 2018 | 141,649 |
| 2019 | 154,330 |
| 2020 | 148,003 |
| 2021 | 154,474 |
| 2022 | 180,878 |
| 2023 | 173,279 |
| 2024 | 180,878 |
Manganese ore production
Manganese ore production (Gabon) went from 3,201.0 kt in 2010 to 7,103.0 kt in 2025. The highest value was reached in 2022 (10,375.0 kt).
| Period | Manganese ore production (kt) |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 3,201.0 |
| 2011 | 4,070.0 |
| 2012 | 3,637.0 |
| 2013 | 4,297.0 |
| 2014 | 4,081.0 p |
| 2015 | 4,112.0 p |
| 2016 | 3,379.0 p |
| 2017 | 4,717.0 |
| 2018 | 5,071.0 p |
| 2019 | 6,169.0 p |
| 2020 | 7,326.0 |
| 2021 | 7,320.0 e |
| 2022 | 10,375.0 |
| 2023 | 9,968.0 |
| 2024 | 6,803.0 |
| 2025 | 7,103.0 |
p: provisional; e: estimate.
Provisional or estimated values are drawn with dashed lines.
Main players
Main players
| Name | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| OPRAG (Gabon ports and harbours authority) | Port authority, management of port areas | Owendo, Port-Gentil |
| Setrag (Trans-Gabon railway operator) | Rail concession, freight and passengers | Owendo to Franceville |
| Comilog (Eramet group) | Manganese mining, main rail shipper | Moanda (Haut-Ogooué) |
| Owendo mineral port (GSEZ Mineral Port) | Bulk terminal connected to the railway | Owendo (Estuaire) |
| Gabon motorway company (SAG) | Public-private partnership on the Transgabonaise highway | Estuaire, Moyen-Ogooué |
| Fly Gabon | National airline, domestic flights | Léon-Mba airport, Libreville |
| Afrijet | Airline | Libreville |
| ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) | Air transport regulation, safety oversight | Libreville |
Source: PNDT 2024-2026; Setrag; Eramet; Meridiam; ANAC; Gabonreview (opens in a new tab)
Regulatory framework
The Gabon ports and harbours authority (OPRAG) was created by Ordinance no. 41/74 of 30 March 1974. Maritime and port activities are governed by Ordinance no. 011/PR/2011 of 11 August 2011 on the development of maritime and port activities, ratified by Law no. 022/2011 of 24 February 2012. The PNDT 2024-2026 plans to update the 1974 text to make shared management of port areas effective and to issue implementing texts for the 2012 law.
The railway is operated under a concession agreement between the State and Setrag, signed in 2005 for thirty years and amended in 2015 to include the upgrade programme. Air transport is overseen by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), which applies the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As a CEMAC member, Gabon applies the regional Customs Code revised in 2019; road haulage contracts are governed by the Uniform Act of the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) adopted in 2003.
Reference texts
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Ordinance creating the Gabon ports and harbours office (OPRAG) and setting its statutes
Ordonnance n° 41/74/PR-MTPTAC du 30 mars 1974 portant création et statuts de l'Office des ports et rades du Gabon
-
Maritime and port activities ordinance
Ordonnance n° 0011/PR/2011 du 11 août 2011 relative au développement des activités maritimes et portuaires en République gabonaise
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CEMAC customs code
Règlement n° 05/19-UEAC-010A-CM-33 du 22 mars 2019 portant révision du Code des douanes de la CEMAC
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Uniform act on contracts for the carriage of goods by road
Acte uniforme OHADA adopté le 22 mars 2003 à Yaoundé, publié au Journal officiel de l'OHADA le 31 juillet 2003
Opportunities
The PNDT 2024-2026 identifies several projects that could attract private investment, often through public-private partnerships:
- Rail: raise freight capacity to 29 million tonnes by 2032, extend sidings at ten stations and add tracks at four stations, acquire a new passenger train to grow from 260,000 passengers in 2022 to 330,000 in 2026, and study a new 340 km Komo Ogooué Railways line for iron ore from Bélinga, Baniaka and Milingui and for timber.
- Maritime: deep-water port at Mayumba, passenger terminals in Libreville and Port-Gentil, shipyards, port interconnection and simpler procedures.
- Air: certification of the international airports of Port-Gentil and Franceville (Mvengue), approval of nine public aerodromes and a sustainable air transport strategy.
- Road: bankable feasibility studies on national roads, a 2024-2026 modernisation programme and regional integration projects towards Cameroon and Congo.
Importing and moving goods
See the steps, documents and timeframes for import formalities.
Take the next step
These opportunities translate into concrete formalities: find the ones that apply to your project, or ask the assistant.
Documents
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National Development Plan for the Transition 2024-2026, PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Ministère de l'Économie et des Participations
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Eramet, full-year 2025 results (press release), PDF format (opens in a new tab)
Eramet
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Trans-Gabon railway upgrade project (project page), HTML format (opens in a new tab)
Agence française de développement
Trade formalities
The formalities to complete at ports, border posts and customs offices along these corridors.
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Importing
Formalities, documents and lead times for imports.
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Exporting
Formalities, documents and lead times for exports.
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Customs clearance and taxation
Customs declarations, customs regimes and tax obligations.
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Standards and certification
Applicable standards, quality controls and certificates.
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Licences and permits
Approvals, licences and prior permits by activity.
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Tariffs and taxes
Customs duties, VAT, excise duties and other levies.
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Guided path
A personalised list of formalities for your project.
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Duty and tax simulator
Estimate the duties and taxes on an import.
Sources
15 sources cited
Documents and datasets used for this profile.
- Plan national de développement pour la transition (PNDT) 2024-2026, version 3 (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon : projet de remise à niveau du Transgabonais (PRN) (opens in a new tab)
- Histoire de la Setrag (opens in a new tab)
- Le pari de Christian Magni pour transformer le Transgabonais (opens in a new tab)
- Eramet: structural measures to strengthen balance sheet and prepare the future, after a challenging year 2025 (FY 2025 results press release) (opens in a new tab)
- Transgabonais : 133 milliards pour ressusciter l'épine dorsale ferroviaire du Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units), Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Transport in Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Owendo Port, Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Inauguration de Fly Gabon, la nouvelle compagnie aérienne nationale (opens in a new tab)
- Transport aérien : Fly Gabon décolle la semaine prochaine (opens in a new tab)
- Communauté économique et monétaire de l'Afrique centrale (opens in a new tab)
- Espaces Africains journal (peer-reviewed article) (opens in a new tab) Port of Owendo traffic
- World Bank (opens in a new tab) Container port traffic, Air passengers carried, Logistics performance index (LPI)
- Eramet (Comilog) (opens in a new tab) Manganese ore production
