Africa-Press – Mozambique. The rehabilitation work on the bridge over the Save River connecting Mozambique’s southern and central regions in Govuro district, in Inhambane province, has been suspended due to lack of funds, according to a report in Tuesday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”.
Budgeted at 5.9 billion meticais (92 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate) the repairs to the bridge, which is more than 50 years old, are part of a project which includes the construction of an alternative bridge for temporary use, while rehabilitation of the old one continues.
Scheduled to last three years, the engineering interventions consist of replacing the suspension cables, expansion joints, repairs to the concrete, and painting. The repairs are being undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Construction Company (CRBC), which also built the Maputo-Katembe suspension bridge across the Bay of Maputo.
The cable-stayed bridge is reinforced with three spans, with 210 metres each, plus two others of 110 metres. There are two traffic lanes and two sidewalks for pedestrians.
Dady Mendes, Inhambane delegate of the National Roads Administration (ANE), confirmed the interruption of the work but guaranteed it will resume as soon as the money is available.
In 2019, the work was interrupted in December following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in China, which hampered the travel of the Chinese technical staff.
“We hope to meet the scheduled deadline which establishes June 2022 for the conclusion and handover,” said Mendes.
The bridge is 72 per cent complete, and should the money be made available, the ANE is confident of finishing the rehabilitation by June 2022. As for the new bridge, Mendes indicated that work is moving smoothly and the teams are setting up girders on the access roads.
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