Bandundu (city)
Bandundu, formerly known as Banningville or Banningstad, is the capital city of Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3]
Bandundu | |
|---|---|
Provincial capital and city | |
| Ville de Bandundu | |
 View of city center from the air, 2007 | |
  Bandundu Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| Coordinates: 3°19′S 17°22′E | |
| Country |  DR Congo |
| Province | Kwilu |
| City status | 1969 |
| Communes | Basoko, Disasi, Mayoyo |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Moïse Monshengo[1][2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 222 km2 (86 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 321 m (1,053 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Total | 143,435 |
| • Density | 650/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (West Africa Time) |
| Climate | Aw |
Location
Bandundu is located on the east bank of the Kwango River, just north of the juncture of the Kwango and the Kwilu, and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south from the mouth of the Kwango on the Kasai River. It is around 260 kilometres (160 mi) from Kinshasa by air, or about 400 kilometres (250 mi) by road. In 2009, Bandundu had an estimated population of 133,080.[4]
Economy
Bandundu was once a significant river port, as it is the largest town on the river between Kinshasa and Kikwit. However, traffic on the Kasai and Kwango Rivers dropped dramatically as a result of the Second Congo War, and has yet to recover. Bandundu does have intermittent passenger and freight service to Kinshasa, Mushie and Kikwit. Since 2008, there is a car/truck ferry service running several times per day across the Kwango. An unpaved road, roughly 250 km long, runs from this point to the main (paved) highway between Kinshasa and Kikwit.
Bandundu is served by Bandundu Airport, with direct flights to Kinshasa.
Unlike many cities in the Congo, Bandundu has a fairly constant supply of electricity. However, this has nothing to do with Inga-Shaba HVDC line, as this line has no intermediate terminals.
Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, Bandundu has a tropical wet and dry climate (Aw).[5]
| Climate data for Bandundu | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.0 (98.6) |
35.6 (96.1) |
36.5 (97.7) |
35.5 (95.9) |
35.3 (95.5) |
34.2 (93.6) |
33.3 (91.9) |
35.4 (95.7) |
35.2 (95.4) |
34.8 (94.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
33.9 (93.0) |
37.0 (98.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 30.6 (87.1) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.3 (88.3) |
30.6 (87.1) |
29.5 (85.1) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.0 (87.8) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.5 (86.9) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.8 (87.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.2 (79.2) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.7 (80.1) |
26.7 (80.1) |
25.6 (78.1) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.1 (79.0) |
26.3 (79.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
26.1 (79.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) |
21.9 (71.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
22.0 (71.6) |
22.1 (71.8) |
20.6 (69.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
20.3 (68.5) |
21.2 (70.2) |
21.6 (70.9) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.9 (71.4) |
21.4 (70.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 17.9 (64.2) |
18.2 (64.8) |
18.6 (65.5) |
18.6 (65.5) |
17.0 (62.6) |
15.8 (60.4) |
15.0 (59.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
18.6 (65.5) |
18.5 (65.3) |
18.7 (65.7) |
17.8 (64.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 144 (5.7) |
149 (5.9) |
169 (6.7) |
171 (6.7) |
100 (3.9) |
23 (0.9) |
6 (0.2) |
22 (0.9) |
107 (4.2) |
213 (8.4) |
246 (9.7) |
192 (7.6) |
1,542 (60.7) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 75 |
| Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[6] | |||||||||||||
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Gallery
Seat of the Provincial Assembly
Road in the town center
Market
Clothing market
River Kwilu at Bandundu
Beside the River Kwilu
See also
References
- Matanga, Patrick (26 November 2022). "Kwilu : Voici la liste complète de nouveaux maires et bourgmestres des villes de Bandundu et Kikwit". Yabisonews (in French). Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- "Bandundu : prise des fonctions de nouvelles autorités de la petite territoriale". Radio Okapi (in French). 20 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- "Loi organique nº 15/006 du 25 mars 2015 portant fixation des limites des provinces et celles de la ville de Kinshasa" (PDF). Journal officiel de la République Démocratique du Congo (in French) (Special ed.). 56. Article 15, col. 39. 28 Mar 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- "Congo (Dem. Rep.): largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- Peel, M. C.; Finlayson, B. L.; McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification" (PDF). Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11 (5): 1633–1644. Bibcode:2007HESS...11.1633P. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606.
- "Klimatafel von Bandundu, Region Bandundu / Dem. Rep. Kongo (Zaire)" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
Capitals of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
Provinces are shown between brackets | ||