Brazzaville–Kinshasa Bridge

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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

  1. ^ "Brazzaville-Kinshasa rail/road bridge project - a project in Congo". MBendi.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  2. ^ "Building today, a better Africa tomorrow". African Development Bank. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  3. ^ "Road-rail bridge between Brazzaville and Kinshasa [Business Africa]", Africanews.com, 16 May 2019, retrieved 2020-02-26
  4. ^ http://www.e-ships.net/ports/Congo/1143.htm[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ http://www.e-ships.net/ports/Congo%20(Democratic%20Republic)/1148.htm [bare URL]

04°15′33″S 15°17′05″E / 4.25917°S 15.28472°E / -4.25917; 15.28472