Société commerciale des transports et des ports

The Société commerciale des transports et des ports (Commercial society of ports and transports), prior to 2011 known as the Office national des transports (National Office of Transports), or ONATRA, is a publicly owned company based in Kinshasa which operates railways, ports, and river transport in the north and west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the Congo River. It is the continuation of the Office of Colonial Transport (Office des transports coloniaux, OTRACO) founded in 1935 and has subsequently existed under other names.

ONATRA head office

History

The 'Office des transports coloniaux (or "Colonial transport agency, OTRACO) was established, in 1935, as a public body, and renamed the Office des transports au Congo (OTRACO) in 1960, finally becoming the "Office National des Transports" (ONATRA) in 1971.

In 1973, ONATRA carried its largest number of passengers ever, a total of 410,871.

In 1977, the government decided to end ONATRA's monopoly of river transport, and to allow any individual or company to own and operate river boats.

Decline in the state of its assets, together with competition, led to a sharp decline, so that by 1982, it only carried 121,779 passengers.

Network
First Class ticket for the ferry Kalamu, November 2003

The network includes:

Timeline

2008
  • New locomotives

Basketball team

The company has a basketball team, named BC SCTP, that is the most decorated club in Congolese history. They have won 18 Coupe du Congo titles.

See also

References
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