Venezuela is connected to the world primarily via air (Venezuela's airports include the Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas and La Chinita International Airport near Maracaibo) and sea (with major sea ports at La Guaira, Maracaibo and Puerto Cabello). In the south and east the Amazon rainforest region has limited cross-border transport; in the west, there is a mountainous border of over 1,375 miles (2,213 km) shared with Colombia. The Orinoco River is navigable by oceangoing vessels up to 400km inland, and connects the major industrial city of Ciudad Guayana to the Atlantic Ocean.
Venezuela has a limited national railway system, which has no active rail connections to other countries; the government of Hugo Chávez has invested substantially in expanding it. Several major cities have metro systems; the Caracas Metro has been operating since 1983. The Maracaibo Metro and Valencia Metro were opened more recently. Venezuela has a road network of around 100,000 km (placing it around 47th in the world); around a third of roads are paved.
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total: 7000 km (?) (248 km privately owned, including Orinoco Mining Company)
standard gauge: 682 km (40 km electrified) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) ([1])
Automobile transport is encouraged by the fact that Venezuela has the lowest gas prices in the world, at $0.48 per gallon ($0.13 per liter).[6] In some cases, gas is less expensive than bottled water.[7]
total: 96,155 km
paved: 32,308 km
unpaved: 63,847 km (1997 est.)
7,101 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels
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total: 34 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over) totaling 488,584 GRT/888,764 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
ships by type: (1999 est.)
366 (1999 est.)
total: 122
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
914 to 1,523 m: 58
under 914 m: 17 (1999 est.)
total: 244
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 93
under 914 m: 141 (1999 est.)
1 (1999 est.)
At one time Venezuela had the world's highest cable car. The Mérida cable car opened in 1960, connecting Mérida with the top of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida. It was closed indefinitely in 2008, having reached the end of its service life.
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