with the capacity to transport 30 tons of material every hour in each direction from the seaport of massawa to 2326 meters above sea level in asmara, the cableway was the longest of its kind in the world when inaugurated in 1937. the bearing cables were in almost 30 sections, were powered by diesel engines, and carried freight in 1540 small transport gondolas. in southern eritrea there was another small ropeway.