Brazzaville-Kinshasa Bridge

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Satellite image of the Congo with the Malebo pool and the two cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa in the left half. The bridge is to be built at a narrowing downstream of the cities, seen here on the picture on the left.

Brazzaville-Kinshasa Bridge ( French : pont Brazzaville – Kinshasa ) is a bridge under construction for road and rail traffic over the Congo River , with which the two nearest capitals of the world will be connected: Republic of the Congo , Brazzaville , and Democratic Republic of the Congo , Kinshasa . It is part of the Tripoli-Windhoek (Cape Town) Highway , which in turn is part of the Trans-African Highways .

From 2007, intensive negotiations in both countries about a connecting bridge over the Congo River, which to this day can only be crossed by ferries. Finally, at the Africa Investment Forum 2018 in Johannesburg, the contract to build the bridge was signed between the two states of the African Development Bank (AfEB) and Africa50 (pan-African platform for infrastructure and investment). The project is designed as a public-private partnership , with the African Development Bank acting as the investor, under the supervision of the Central African Economic Community , and Africa50 being responsible for project development, strategic planning and further capital procurement. The cost estimate was 400 million euros in 2012 and 550 million US dollars in 2017.

The annual transit traffic of an estimated 750,000 people and 340,000 tons of freight is expected to grow with the bridge to 3 million people and 2 million tons of freight in 2025.

With a length of 1757 m, it is said to be the missing permanent crossing over the Congo River, which is 1300 m wide and 25 to 35 m deep at this point and has so far been crossed by ferries. From the northern bank (Maluku Tréchot) it is 65 km to Brazzaville and 87 km to Kinshasa from the southern side (Maluku). Towards the bridge, 6.8 kilometers of road have to be developed on the north and 3.2 kilometers of road on the south. The road bridge should be single-lane drivable on both sides, with each lane being 7 m wide.

On May 12, 2019, the President of AfEB, Akinwumi Adesina , announced the start of construction in August 2020 and spoke of a cost volume of 550 million US dollars, of which 210 million US dollars will come from AfEB.

Quotes

  • The idea to connect the two capitals dates back to the mid-19th century. This project is just the beginning, more will follow. [The idea of ​​connecting the two capitals dates back to the middle of the 19th century. This project marks the beginning of many others. ] - Akinwumi Adesina , President of the African Development Bank

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b African Development Bank: DRC - The Congo river road-rail connecting bridge construction project - Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) - Summary. September 10, 2019, accessed on May 28, 2020 .
  2. ^ A b c d African Development Bank: Kinshasa, Brazzaville Ink Landmark Bridge Project. February 8, 2019, accessed on May 28, 2020 .
  3. ^ RDC - Congo: un pont pour relier Kinshasa et Brazzaville? - Jeune Afrique. In: JeuneAfrique.com. August 29, 2012, accessed on May 28, 2020 (Fri-FR).
  4. ↑ Projet de pont Kinshasa-Brazzaville: la BAD annonce des travaux en 2020 - Jeune Afrique. May 12, 2019, accessed on May 28, 2020 (Fri-FR).

Coordinates: 4 ° 16 ′ 58.8 ″  S , 15 ° 18 ′ 18.2 ″  E