The Matadi Bridge, also known as the OEBK Bridge for ''Organisation pour l’équipement de Banana-Kinshasa'', and formerly known as Pont Maréchal in French, is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

across 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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

. It was completed in 1983 by a consortium of Japanese companies. With a main span of , it was the longest suspension bridge in Africa from its inauguration until the 2018 opening of the Maputo–Katembe bridge. The bridge crosses the Congo River at its narrowest point, just downstream from the port of Matadi. It is in fact the only road and rail crossing of the Congo River proper, the only other existing crossing being the Kongolo Bridge in Katanga which spans the

Lualaba River The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo River, while the source of the Congo is recognized as the Chambeshi. The Lualaba is long. Its headwaters are in ...

, a tributary of the Congo.

Construction

Matadi Bridge was completed in 1983 by a consortium of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese companies, led by

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries , formerly known as , is a Japanese engineering corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan that produces and offers ships, space launch vehicles, aircraft engines, marine diesel engines, gas turbines, gas engines, railway systems, turbochargers f ...

. It has a main span of and crosses the

. Matadi Bridge was built with 14,000 tons of steel. The bridge is designed in a way to emphasize that the towers are made up of bar members, with each tower being a single rigid frame. 25 million of the bridge was paid for by the Japanese government at the request of President Mobutu at a cost of 34.5 billion

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

. During war time the bridge was guarded and still remains as of 2016.

Railway

A railway line across the bridge was intended to be part of a line to Boma and

Muanda Moanda or Muanda is a town and territory lying on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the mouth of the Congo River., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency It is situated in Kongo Central Province ...

. However, it has never been in operation.''

Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport p ...

'' September 2012, p. 42.

References

External links

* {{Structurae, id=20003202, title=Matadi Suspension Bridge Suspension bridges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Matadi Bridges completed in 1983 Bridges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Bridges over the Congo River Democratic Republic of the Congo–Japan relations

Construction

Railway

See also

References

External links