Logistics and transport
Corridors and strategic routes
Four main axes shape Gabon's trade with its hinterland and its neighbours in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC): the northern road corridor to Cameroon, the Trans-Gabon rail corridor, the coastal and river links around Port-Gentil and the Ogooué, and the southern corridor to the Republic of Congo.
- Owendo-Franceville rail corridor
- 648km
- Rail freight carried
- 8.9million tonnes
- National road network (excluding urban roads)
- 10,384km
Detailed sources in the key figures below.
Corridors, ports and border posts
Ports, stations, border posts and corridors
- Border post, Railway
- Port
- Railway station
- Road corridor
The map cannot be displayed in this browser. The list of places remains available.
List of places (26)
- Doussala border post (Congo) Border post
- Eboro border post (Cameroon) Border post
- Meyo-Kyé border post (Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon) Border post
- Owendo Mineral Port (Arise P&L) Port
- Port of Port-Gentil Port
- Libreville Port-Môle Port
- Port of Owendo (commercial port and container terminal) Port
- Owendo mineral port (Comilog) Port
- Acaé secondary port (Libreville) Port
- Trans-Gabon railway (Owendo-Franceville) Railway
- Alembé station Railway station
- Andem station Railway station
- Ayem station Railway station
- Booué station Railway station
- Franceville station Railway station
- Ivindo station Railway station
- Lastoursville station Railway station
- Lopé station Railway station
- Moanda station Railway station
- Ndjolé station Railway station
- Ntoum station Railway station
- Otoumbi station Railway station
- Owendo station Railway station
- Libreville-Ndjolé-Oyem-Bitam-Cameroon border corridor Road corridor
- Libreville-Ntoum-Cocobeach road Road corridor
- Libreville-Lambaréné-Mouila-Ndendé-Congo border corridor (RN1) Road corridor
Key figures
Corridor benchmarks
Owendo-Franceville rail corridor
648 km
2026
Rail freight carried
8.9 million tonnes
2024
National road network (excluding urban roads)
10,384 km
PNDT 2024-2026
Paved roads
1,800 km approx.
PNDT 2024-2026
Ndendé-Doussala section (RN1) to Congo, under construction
48 km, completion planned for 2027
2025
Eboro cross-border bridge over the Ntem (to Cameroon)
2005 year opened
2005
Source: Oyem (opens in a new tab)
Container port traffic
180,878 TEU
2024
Border posts and procedures
Customs offices at land borders and the formalities completed there.
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Bitam, Woleu-Ntem
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Cocobeach, Estuaire
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Doussala, Ngounié
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Eboro, Woleu-Ntem
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Médouneu, Woleu-Ntem
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Moulengui-Binza customs office
Moulengui-Binza, Nyanga
Locations
- 4 provinces
- Estuaire, Ngounié, Ogooué-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem
Source: OCHA / Institut national de cartographie du Gabon (CC BY-IGO)
Provinces of the listed sites: port, border post.
Trends
Northern corridor: Libreville-Owendo to Cameroon
From Libreville and the port of Owendo, the northern road axis follows the national roads through Ndjolé, Mitzic, Oyem and Bitam to the Cameroonian border. The Eboro cross-border bridge over the Ntem, opened in 2005 to replace a ferry, links Gabon to Kyé-Ossi in Cameroon; the paved road continues to Ambam, Ebolowa and Yaoundé. This route is part of the CEMAC Gabon-Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea corridor. On the Gabonese side, the section leaving Libreville (PK12-Ntoum-Kango-Bifoun-Ndjolé) is covered by a rehabilitation programme under the Transgabonaise highway project, in partnership between the State and the Gabon motorway company (SAG).
Rail corridor: the Trans-Gabon railway
The 648 km single-track line links Owendo to Franceville. It carries manganese mined at Moanda as well as logs and sawn timber, containers, fuel, water and sugar: excluding mining products, 581,000 tonnes of goods were moved in 2022 according to the PNDT; in 2024 total traffic reached 8.9 million tonnes according to Le Confidentiel. The modernisation and safety programme approved in April 2026 (203 million euros) is intended to restore track capacity; the French Development Agency (AFD) notes that actual throughput had fallen to 9 train paths a day against a nominal capacity of 16.5.
Port-Gentil, coastal and river links
For Port-Gentil, in Ogooué-Maritime, the PNDT lists completion of the Port-Gentil-Mbéga road among priority projects, along with passenger sea terminals in Libreville and Port-Gentil and certification of Port-Gentil international airport. The river network, with 310 km perennially navigable on the Ogooué, complements access to the interior.
Southern corridor: to the Republic of Congo
The road corridor to the Republic of Congo runs through Ndendé (Ngounié) and the border locality of Doussala. Paving of the 48 km Ndendé-Doussala section, awarded to Sinohydro with support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), includes a bridge over the Ngongo river and a weighing station; completion is announced for 2027 according to Gabonmediatime. The PNDT also lists completion of the Ndendé-Tchibanga and Mayumba-Tchibanga roads, which serve the south-west and the deep-water port being considered at Mayumba.
Regional framework
Gabon belongs to the CEMAC customs union, whose nationals have enjoyed free movement within the region since 2015, although implementation has been delayed. Transit times on these corridors are not covered by recent verified public statistics and are therefore not shown here.
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 |
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 |
Logistics performance index (LPI)
Logistics performance index (LPI) (Gabon) went from 2.10 /5 in 2007 to 2.40 /5 in 2022. The highest value was reached in 2010 (2.41 /5).
| Period | Logistics performance index (LPI) (/5) |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 2.10 |
| 2010 | 2.41 |
| 2012 | 2.34 |
| 2014 | 2.20 |
| 2016 | 2.19 |
| 2018 | 2.16 |
| 2022 | 2.40 |
Main players
Corridor stakeholders
| Name | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Duties | Customs clearance, border control and transit regimes | Libreville, ports and border posts |
| OPRAG (Gabon ports and harbours authority) | Port authority | Owendo, Port-Gentil |
| Setrag | Operation of the Owendo-Franceville rail corridor | Owendo to Franceville |
| Gabon motorway company (SAG) | Rehabilitation of the PK12-Ntoum-Kango-Nsilé section of the Transgabonaise | Estuaire |
| Sinohydro | Contractor for the Ndendé-Doussala works | Ndendé-Doussala |
| African Development Bank (AfDB) | Financing support for the Ndendé-Doussala road | Southern corridor |
Source: PNDT 2024-2026; Gabonmediatime (juillet 2025) (opens in a new tab)
Regulatory framework
Goods in transit through or bound for Gabon are subject to the CEMAC Customs Code, revised in 2019, the common external tariff and the procedures of the Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Duties. Port activities are governed by the 1974 ordinance creating the Gabon ports and harbours authority (OPRAG) and by Law no. 022/2011 ratifying the ordinance on the development of maritime and port activities. The rail corridor is operated under the concession granted to Setrag in 2005. Road haulage contracts between OHADA member states are governed by the Uniform Act adopted in 2003.
Import, customs clearance and transit formalities are described in the platform's procedure pages.
Reference texts
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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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CEMAC customs tariff and common external tariff
Acte n° 7/93-UDEAC-556-SE1 du 21 juin 1993 portant révision du tarif extérieur commun et fixant les modalités d'application du tarif préférentiel généralisé, modifié
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Revised treaty of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC)
Traité révisé de la CEMAC, fait à Libreville le 30 janvier 2009
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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
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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
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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
Related procedures
Import and transit formalities
Steps, required documents and competent authorities.
Opportunities
- Southern corridor: logistics services, fuel stations, warehousing and road haulage along the Ndendé-Doussala axis once it opens, announced for 2027.
- Rail corridor: capacity expansion (target of 29 million tonnes of freight by 2032 according to the PNDT), a new 340 km Komo Ogooué Railways line under study for iron ore and timber, rolling stock.
- Northern corridor: rehabilitation of the Transgabonaise highway and feasibility studies on national roads, opening up works and maintenance contracts.
- Coast and river: deep-water port at Mayumba, passenger sea terminals in Libreville and Port-Gentil, shipyards and port interconnection.
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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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
12 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)
- Le pari de Christian Magni pour transformer le Transgabonais (opens in a new tab)
- Transgabonais : 133 milliards pour ressusciter l'épine dorsale ferroviaire du Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Gabon-Congo : la route Ndendé-Doussala, futur levier d'intégration régionale (opens in a new tab)
- Oyem (opens in a new tab)
- Transport in Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Communauté économique et monétaire de l'Afrique centrale (opens in a new tab)
- Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units), Gabon (opens in a new tab)
- Histoire de la Setrag (opens in a new tab)
- World Bank (opens in a new tab) Container port traffic, Logistics performance index (LPI), Merchandise imports
- Espaces Africains journal (peer-reviewed article) (opens in a new tab) Port of Owendo traffic
