The Brazzaville–Kinshasa Bridge is a proposed road-rail bridge construction project over the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

that will connect the Republic of the Congo to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

at their respective capitals, Brazzaville and Kinshasa. The project has proceeded intermittently, but work is slated to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2028.

Background

The cities of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, capitals of the Republic of the Congo (ROC) and

(DRC) respectively, are situated on opposite banks of the

. They are considered the closest national capitals on Earth (excluding the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

since the city-state has no capital). Plans for a bridge crossing the Congo River to connect the two countries were financed in 1991 but shelved in 1993 due to a lack of sufficient funding and turmoil in the ROC. The project was revived a decade later in 2003 by the ROC's Transport Infrastructure Unit (''Cellule d’infrastructures de transport''), which had previously cooperated with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

on similar projects in

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...

. The proposed bridge was relocated downstream to take advantage of the narrower and rocky riverbed which would facilitate easier erection of bridge pillars. The cost of construction was estimated to be between 40 million and 80 million euros in 2003. In January 2004, the project was endorsed by the

Economic Community of Central African States The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da Áfr ...

(ECCAS), which by then was estimated to cost 403 million euros. The project stalled in 2005 when DRC presidential chief of staff Léonard She Okitundu expressed that the project would adversely affect economic activity in its port towns of Boma and

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

, which are key contributors to its economy. The DRC refused to endorse the bridge project without a commitment by the

New Partnership for Africa's Development The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is an economic development program of the African Union. NEPAD was adopted at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. NEPAD aims to ...

(NEPAD) to finance a deepwater port in Banana, its only city on the Atlantic coast. Okitundu also confirmed that sanctions by the African Union meant the DRC had been excluded from negotiations with NEPAD regarding the projects. A 2010 report by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

stated that the proposed bridge would instead increase maritime traffic to Pointe-Noire, ROC's main port city on the Atlantic. Following a study in 2009, the project laid dormant until a meeting was held in Libreville, Gabon in December 2016 between the two countries. In January 2017, the ECCAS reactivated the project, with the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies ...

pledging 250 million euros to the project. The two Congos were to raise the remaining 110 million euros and seek donors for an additional 40 million euros. An agreement was formally signed in November 2018 between the ROC and DRC for a 1,575m-long toll bridge to connect their capitals. Construction works have since been repeatedly delayed with works now expected to commence in 2023. The bridge is expected to be completed in 2028.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazzaville-Kinshasa Bridge Bridges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Proposed bridges in Africa Road-rail bridges Rail transport in the Republic of the Congo Rail transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Buildings and structures in Brazzaville Buildings and structures in Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo–Republic of the Congo border crossings Transport in Kinshasa Bridges over the Congo River

Background

See also

References