Maputo – Katembe bridge

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Maputo – Katembe bridge under construction (April 2017), with the Maputo skyline in the background

The bridge from Maputo to Katembe ( Ponte de Maputo a Katembe ) is a toll bridge over the Bay of Maputo in southern Mozambique , it connects the Mozambican capital Maputo on the north bank with the urban district Katembe on the south bank . The construction work, which began in 2014, was carried out by the Chinese China Road and Bridge Corporation ; a large part of the project was financed by loans from the Chinese Exim Bank . The inauguration took place on June 25, 2018, the opening on November 10, 2018, the 131st anniversary of Maputo. When it was completed, it replaced the Matadi Bridge as the longest suspension bridge on the African continent. The bridge is managed and maintained by the Mozambican state company Maputo-Sul .

history

Completed bridge piers of the bridge under construction between Maputo and Katembe (view of the southern bank of Katembe; September 2016)

The idea of ​​a bridge over the Bay of Maputo - analogous to the Ponte 25 de Abril over the Tejo in Lisbon - had existed for many years. The construction of a bridge was planned for Maputo in 1989, which was financed by the World Bank.

The Mozambican government was only able to tackle the project thanks to the end of the civil war, the numerous investments made in the course of the gas and oil boom and the associated strong economic boom in Mozambique. The government opened a procedure for expressing interest in November 2008.

After a visit by the then Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates in 2010, financing by the Portuguese state was originally planned. However, due to the massive financial and budget crisis in the country, the commitment could not be fulfilled. After the Mozambican President Armando Guebuza visited the People's Republic of China in August 2011, both countries agreed to finance the project through China.

The construction work is being commissioned by the state development company Empresa de Desenvolvimento de Maputo Sul, EP (Maputo-Sul for short), which is also responsible for the construction of the ring road . The construction itself is being carried out by the Chinese civil engineering group China Road and Bridge Corporation , and according to China Daily, up to 2000 jobs will be created. The German engineering company GAUFF Engineering advises on construction supervision.

Construction work on the northern part of the bridge (September 2017)

The first preparatory construction work began in June 2014. After a few delays - especially in the resettlement of residents in the Maputo district of Malanga - the opening should take place on Mozambique's national holiday, June 25, 2018. Ultimately, the opening took place on November 10, 2018, the 131st anniversary of the founding of the Mozambican capital, and President Filipe Nyusi inaugurated the bridge. At the opening, the President said that the bridge would massively promote tourism in Mozambique in particular and thus bring more wealth to the region.

During the opening, it was announced that the maintenance costs of the bridge are well over one million US dollars a year. The state-owned company Maputo-Sul maintains and manages the bridge. The tolls that have to be paid for driving on the bridge have also become known: They vary between 160 and 1200 meticais (at the end of 2018 around 2.2–17 euros).

Description of the structure

Crossing the completed bridge (2020)

The four-lane suspension bridge is 680 meters long and crosses the bay at a height of 60 meters. The northern approaching viaduct (foreland bridge) is 1097 meters long, about S-shaped and is connected to the roundabout Praça 16 de Junho (with connection to the trunk roads EN2 / EN4 ) in the Maputo district of Malanga . The southern viaduct is 1234 meters long and consists of up to 45 m long prefabricated parts. It connects directly to the road to Ponta do Ouro.

Originally, pylons for a cable-stayed bridge were also planned in the bay itself, which were modified in order not to unnecessarily obstruct the approach path to the international airport and also the shipping traffic. A span of 680 meters is bridged between the two pylons on the banks without piers. This makes the bridge the largest of its kind in Africa. The main suspension cables are connected to a massive anchor block via steel structures in the north and south. The extremely high loads of the structure require pile foundations with diameters of 1.50 m to 2.20 m and extend up to 110 m deep into the claystone. The two pylons are 141 m high and there is a cross bar for the carriageway at a height of around 40 meters. The individual prefabricated steel parts for the carriageway are each 25.60 m wide and 12 m long. These were produced in China and installed on the quay wall from the ship.

The bridge construction project also included the expansion of the road from Katembe to the border town of Ponta do Ouro (129 kilometers) and between Boane and Bela Vista (63 kilometers), including bridge structures over the Maputo , Futi and Umbeluzi rivers . Since its completion, the EN1 trunk road has led over the bridge to Ponta do Ouro and the Kosi Bay border crossing.

costs

The cost should amount to about 726 million US dollars, of which 85 percent (681.6 million US dollars) will be financed through special loans from the Chinese Exim bank . These have a term of 20 years at an interest rate of four percent. Another 10 percent (72.5 million USD) will be awarded on different terms via the Exim Bank, 5 percent will be borne directly by the Mozambican state. However, the latest cost estimates were based on pure construction costs of a good 785 million US dollars.

The government-critical newspaper @Verdade reported that the total cost would amount to 1.3 billion euros. The 20-year loans with four percent interest would lead to pure interest costs of a good 30 million euros per year until 2039.

Effects

Before the inauguration of the bridge, the direct (and fastest) connection was the ferry operated by the state shipping company Transmarítimo
Before the inauguration of the bridge, the road between Katembe and Boane to Ponta d'Ouro was not paved. This led to impassability, especially in the rainy season. The travel time between Maputo and the seaside resort of Ponta de Ouro was also a good 4 hours.

Although Katembe belongs to the urban area of ​​Maputo, the spatial separation of the two parts has an immense impact. While Maputo, especially the city center, is heavily urbanized and a good two million people live in the urban area on the north bank, most of the buildings on the south side are single-story, the streets are not paved and there is a lot of undeveloped space. It is estimated that around 15,000-20,000 people lived in Katembe in 2018. Until the opening of the bridge between the two banks, the transport was carried out either by car and passenger ferry or via another detour via Boane (trunk roads EN2 / EN200).

With the completion of the bridge and the expansion of the road to Ponta do Ouro, Katembe is forecast to experience massive population growth to up to 400,000 residents. The entire south bank is also to be urbanized. For the urbanization of Katembe, according to the strategy plan of the engineering office Betar, around 9,510,000 square meters (and thus 58.9 percent of the total area) are to be kept free for residential buildings. 3,270,000 square meters (20.3 percent of the total area) are earmarked for the service sector, 1,880,000 square meters (11.7 percent) for industry.

With the bridge and the expansion of the road to Ponta do Ouro and KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) the travel time has been reduced from over five to under two hours. A joint tourism concept with the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the Kingdom of Swaziland is intended to attract more visitors to South Mozambique.

Awards

The bridge is recognized and recognized in professional circles around the world. In addition to the FULTON Award 2017 and 2019 - the highest award for concrete structures in southern Africa - in June 2019 in New York, the structure also received the “Award of Merit” from the Engineering News-Record (ENR) as the winner in the “Global Best Projects "awarded.

criticism

The high costs of building the bridge and the connected road to Boane and Ponta do Ouro have been massively criticized by the Mozambican publicist Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco . In his opinion, the bridge would cost a seventh of the money if it were built in China. Other well-known Mozambicans, such as the former Mayor of Maputos (2003-2008) Eneas Comiche and the analyst Roberto Tibana, criticized the high costs that would add to the massive debt burden of the Mozambican state. The scientist Américo Matavele countered that Castel-Branco did not consider the costs for the connected roads in his calculations. According to an analysis report by the Economist Intelligence Unit , an analysis company of The Economist Group , the interest rates on the loans of the Chinese Exim bank are also relatively high. The Mozambican government preferred this, even though it had far cheaper financing options. The criticism of the bridge construction project is illustrated.

In early November 2014, numerous Mozambican workers went on strike for several days. They complained about poor working conditions, wrong contracts and late salary payments.

Furthermore, numerous families are affected by resettlements in the course of the construction project. The commissioning company, Maputo Sul, estimates the number of families to be relocated to be 920, for which new four-storey residential buildings with two to four-room apartments are to be built as replacements. Relocations began in 2015.

In the course of the completion of the bridge at the end of 2018, the toll prices for the bridge became known. They are considered to be comparatively high, especially when compared to the ticket prices for the ferry, which could be used up to now. Critics see a massive disadvantage for poorer sections of the population who would "hardly benefit" from the bridge.

Web links

View from the north side of the bridge (July 2018)
Commons : Maputo – Catembe bridge  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Stefan Tavares Bollow, Jörn Seitz and Andreas Raftis: German know-how for Africa's longest suspension bridge . In: Association of Consulting Engineers (Hrsg.): Consulting engineers The specialist magazine for planning and building . tape 47 , no. 1–2 / 2017 . Köllen Druck + Verlag, Berlin January 2017, p. 42 ff . ( available online [PDF]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maputo-Catembe Bridge inaugurated on June 25, date of Mozambique's independence . In: Mozambique . May 2, 2018 ( clubofmozambique.com [accessed May 4, 2018]).
  2. ↑ a b José João: Ponte Maputo-katembe sem data de entrega. In: O País. June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018 (Portuguese).
  3. ↑ a b Stefan Tavares Bollow, Jörn Seitz and Andreas Raftis: German know-how for Africa's longest suspension bridge . In: Association of Consulting Engineers (Hrsg.): Consulting engineers The specialist magazine for planning and building . tape 47 , no. 1-2 / 2017 . Köllen Druck + Verlag, Berlin January 2017, p. 42 ff . ( available online [PDF]).
  4. ^ Prof. Paul Jenkins: Home Space: Context Report. (PDF) 2012, p. 80 , accessed on November 9, 2014 (English).
  5. ↑ Catembe: o mito faz parte do passado. In: A Verdade. April 15, 2009, accessed on November 9, 2014 (Portuguese): “O Governo de Moçambique lançou em Novembro de 2008 um convite internacional para a manifestação de intenções para efeitos de concepção e concessão da empreitada da futura ponte de Maputo para a Catembe. "
  6. ↑ Portugal Podera financiar ponte Maputo / Catembe. In: A Verdade. March 7, 2010, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  7. ↑ Ponte para Katembe começará na Toyota. In: O País. February 15, 2011, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  8. ↑ China financia ponte Maputo-Catembe. In: A Verdade. October 25, 2011, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  9. ↑ a b Construção da ponte Maputo / Catembe, em Moçambique, com início no segundo semestre. Macau Hub, April 24, 2013, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  10. ↑ Xinhua: Mozambique-China cooperation project to create 2,000 jobs. In: China Daily. September 21, 2012, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  11. ↑ a b Closing the gap from Mozambique to South Africa. Gauff Engineering, August 25, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  12. ↑ Catembe: Arranca construção das estacas da ponte. In: Jornal Notícias. June 30, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  13. ↑ a b Adérito Caldeira: Megalómana ponte Maputo - Ka Tembe custará 1,3 bilião de dólares aos moçambicanos. In: @Verdade. November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018 (Portuguese).
  14. ↑ Maputo-Katembe bridge: Maintenance to cost US $ 1.2M / year, not covered by tolls - report. In: Club of Mozambique. November 9, 2018, accessed November 10, 2018 .
  15. ^ Mozambique: Tolls Announced for Bridge Over Bay of Maputo. In: AllAfrica.com. November 4, 2018, accessed November 10, 2018 .
  16. ↑ “Maputo-Catembe” sofre alterações. In: Jornal Notícias. February 14, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  17. ↑ a b c d e A Nova Katembe - Uma cidade para o futuro. (PDF) Betar, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese, English).
  18. ^ Adérito Caldeira: Estrada Nacional nº 1 passa ligar Pemba à Ponta de Ouro. In: @Verdade. August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 (Portuguese).
  19. ^ Construction of the Maputo / Catembe in Mozambique due to begin in second half. Macau Hub, April 24, 2013, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  20. ^ Ponte Maputo-Catembe já tem financiamento. In: Informação & Desporto. RDP África, July 19, 2012, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  21. ↑ AFP: Mozambique opens $ 785 million Chinese bridge. In: Rappler.com. November 10, 2018, accessed November 10, 2018 .
  22. ↑ a b c Maputo inaugura maior ponte suspensa de África. In: VOAportugues.com. Voice of America, October 9, 2018; accessed October 10, 2018 (Portuguese).
  23. ↑ Já é possível chegar à Ponta do Ouro em menos de duas horas opais.sapo.mz , November 9, 2018, accessed on January 19, 2020
  24. ^ Fulton Awards concretesociety.org.za, accessed October 16, 2019
  25. ↑ ENR announces 2019 global best projects winners. enr.com (English), accessed on October 16, 2019
  26. ↑ Américo Matavele: A econometria equivocada do Professor-Doutor Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco. In: Jornal Notícias. February 18, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  27. ↑ Mozambique prefere empréstimos as China apesar de serem corn caros - Economist. In: A Verdade. October 6, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  28. ^ Greve dos trabalhadores da Ponte Maputo-Catembe. (Video) Televisão Independente de Moçambique (TIM), November 8, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).
  29. ↑ OBRAS DA PONTE MAPUTO / CATEMBE: Mil apartamentos para reassentamento. In: Jornal Notícias. September 26, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  30. ↑ Ponte Maputo-Catembe: Afectados transferidos a partir de April 2015. In: Jornal Notícias. September 30, 2014, Retrieved November 9, 2014 (Portuguese).

Coordinates: 25 ° 58 ′ 23.7 ″  S , 32 ° 33 ′ 28.6 ″  E