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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Alexander Joe

This African city thought cable cars could fix its traffic gridlock. It was wrong

Madagascar Cable Cars - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The idea was unique for sub-Saharan Africa: Use cable cars to lift thousands of commuters above the daily gridlock in one of Africa's fast-growing cities.

But the system ran for only a few weeks, and now the car-less cables hang unused above Madagascar 's capital in what might be a $170 million mistake by one of the world's poorest countries.

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