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

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

. It will connect the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

with the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

at their respective capitals,

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

and

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. The project has proceeded intermittently, but work was slated to begin in 2023 and be completed in 2028.

Background

The cities of

and

, capitals of the

(ROC) and the

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

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

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, located in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

on similar projects in

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. The proposed bridge was relocated downstream to take advantage of the narrower and rocky riverbed which would facilitate easier erection of bridge piers. 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; , CEEAC; , CEEAC; , CEEAC) is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise ...

(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 (AU). NEPAD was adopted by the AU at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. ...

(NEPAD) to finance a deepwater port in

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

, its only city on the Atlantic coast. Okitundu also confirmed that sanctions by the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

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 Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

stated that the proposed bridge would instead increase maritime traffic to

Pointe-Noire Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...

, ROC's main port city on the Atlantic. Following a study in 2009, the project lay dormant until a meeting was held between the two countries in

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

, Gabon in December 2016. In January 2017, the ECCAS reactivated the project, with the

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

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 and work was expected to commence in 2023. The bridge is expected to be completed in 2028.

Gauge

The rail link will be single track. Both sides of the bridge use the same 1067mm gauge. For compatibility with AIHSRN third rails or

Dual Gauge Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...

sleepers should be provided.

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

Gauge

See also

References