By Nina Mitch
There are clouds of doubt hanging over the scheduled commencement of construction work on the Kinshasa-Brazaville Road-Rail Bridge project, earlier planned for August 2020 according to African Development Bank (AFDB) President Akinwumi Adesina.
This is because President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Felix Tshisekedi, has reportedly placed a pre-condition, insisting that the deep-water port of Banana on the Atlantic Ocean in Central Congo Province in the DRC has to be constructed before the railroad bridge linking Kinshasa-Brazzaville project can be executed.
The announcement was made during the 9th Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers, held under the chairmanship of President Félix Tshisekedi.
According to Élysée Munembwe, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, President Tshisekedi who was presented with the file on the structuring of the road-rail bridge project, appreciated the regional integrative character of the infrastructure project but stressed that the national economic interests of the DRC will be better served by the prior implementation of the construction of the Banana deep-water port and its road and rail access roads in Matadi, in Central Kongo province.
This also includes the rehabilitation of the Matadi-Kinshasa railway line, the modernization of the Matadi port and construction of the Kinshasa-Ilebo railway.
The ripple effect of all this is that the proposed timeline for the Kinshasa-Brazzaville railroad bridge project in Maloukou is likely to suffer a considerable setback. The project which is part of the priority projects under PAP1 of the AU-AUDA Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) is expected to enhance social and economic relations between the two closest capitals in the World that have been separated by the Congo river.
The location chosen for the bridge is however about sixty-five kilometers from both capital cities. Eleli Alain Alfred from the Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Town and Planning says fourteen locations were considered before dropping anchor at Maloukou for two strategic reasons. The Congo river is at its most narrow here and both countries have established special economic zones in the area.
The proposed project is expected to consist of a 1.575-kilometer toll bridge with a single railway track, a double-lane road, sidewalks, and a border checkpoint at each end. It will be connected to existing road infrastructure in both countries.
The construction of the bridge will improve transportation between Kinshasa and Brazzaville. For decades, the movement of goods and persons between the two closest capitals in the world has only been by ferries, speed boats, and canoes.
Once the bridge is built, the existing traffic of an estimated 750,000 people and 340,000 tons of freight a year, is expected to increase to over 3 million people and 2 million tons of freight by 2025 according to African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates.
The bank is reportedly committing the sum of USD 210 million to the project that has been estimated to cost a total of USD 550 million.
The project is now at the structuring stage under the direction of Africa50, the infrastructure investment platform of the AfDB.
Africa50 is working with the governments of DRC and Republic of Congo under the aegis of the Economic Community of Central African States.
Africa50 will lead the project development, help select a strategic partner, and provide equity for construction.
The execution of the Kinshasa-Brazzaville rail-road road project is critical to efforts to promote regional and continental trade, especially with the continental African Continental Free Trade Area recently (AfCTA) endorsed by Africa leaders.
The bridge is reportedly the missing link in the Trans-Africa route TAH3 road corridor from Tripoli to Windhoek-Le Cap which will be crucial to regional integration.
