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The Brazzaville–Kinshasa Bridge is a planned road-rail bridge that will connect Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two major capital cities on the Congo River.[1][2] The project has proceeded intermittently, but work is slated to begin in August 2020 after receiving a $210m loan from the African Development Bank.[3]
Advantages
- Amongst other things, the proposed bridge would connect Kinshasa via rail to the deepwater 10.46 m draft port at Pointe Noire[4] rather than the shallower 8.20 m draft river port at Matadi.[5]
- The railway systems of both countries use the same gauge, namely 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
- With ever bigger ships, shipping companies prefer to use fewer ports.
- The connected railways can share rolling stock which saves capital costs.
- If one line is closed, for example by floods, traffic can be diverted to the other line.
- There are potential lines from Angola and Namibia which would create a better network.
- It will allow people to drive directly from South Africa to Eastern Russia, becoming part of the longest driven road possible.
Disadvantages
- A minor detail would be to eventually unify couplers and brakes, etc., if not already compatible.
- The Republic of the Congo might be more exposed to political turmoil from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- The great expense of construction.
- Cost of maintenance would be an ongoing stress on both countries' budgets.
See also
References
- ^ "Brazzaville-Kinshasa rail/road bridge project - a project in Congo". MBendi.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
- ^ "Building today, a better Africa tomorrow". African Development Bank. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
- ^ "Road-rail bridge between Brazzaville and Kinshasa [Business Africa]", Africanews.com, retrieved 2020-02-26
- ^ http://www.e-ships.net/ports/Congo/1143.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.e-ships.net/ports/Congo%20(Democratic%20Republic)/1148.htm