Brazzaville–Kinshasa Bridge

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 alow 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 in 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, retrieved 2020-02-26
  4. http://www.e-ships.net/ports/Congo/1143.htm%5B%5D
  5. http://www.e-ships.net/ports/Congo%20(Democratic%20Republic)/1148.htm

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