Matadi Bridge
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2019) |
Matadi Bridge / OEBK Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 5°49′28″S 13°26′02″E / 5.824466°S 13.433865°E |
| Crosses | Congo River |
| Locale | Matadi |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 722 metres (2,369 ft) |
| Longest span | 520 metres (1,710 ft) |
| History | |
| Construction start | 1979 |
| Opened | 1983 |
| Location | |
 | |
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 across the Congo River at Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was completed in 1983, by a consortium of Japanese companies. With a main span of 520 metres (1,710 ft), it was said to be the longest suspension bridge in Africa from its inauguration until the 2018 opening of the Maputo–Katembe bridge.[1] The bridge crosses the Congo River at its narrowest point, just downstream from the port of Matadi. It is the only bridge across the Congo River proper.
Construction
[edit]Matadi Bridge was completed in 1983 by a consortium of Japanese companies, led by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries.[2] It has a main span of 520 metres (1,710 ft) and crosses the Congo River.[3] Matadi Bridge was built with 14,000 tons of steel.[4] 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.[5] 25 million[clarification needed] of the bridge was paid for by the Japanese government at the request of the erstwhile President Mobutu, at a cost of 34.5 billion Japanese yen.[4]
Railway
[edit]A railway line across the bridge was intended to be part of a line to Boma and Muanda. However, it was never built.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Africa's longest suspension bridge opens to the public". 13 November 2018.
- ^ Morikawa, Jun (January 1997). Japan and Africa: Big Business and Diplomacy. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-85065-141-3.
- ^ Shimomura, Yasutami; Page, John; Kato, Hiroshi (26 January 2016). Japan's Development Assistance: Foreign Aid and the Post-2015 Agenda. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-1-137-50538-5.
- ^ a b Bernstein, Gail Lee; Fukui, Haruhiro (3 January 2016). Japan and the World: Essays on Japanese History and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-349-08682-5.
- ^ Bridge Aesthetics Around the World. Transportation Research Board. 1991. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-309-05072-2.
- ^ Railway Gazette International September 2012, p. 42.
External links
[edit]| Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
