* The rehabilitation (totalrenovering) of a dilapidated (nedslidt) bridge in DR Congo has led to lower food prices and a significant gain in travel time, boosting business efficiency
* Financing for the bridge was made possible by a project aimed at facilitating the economic and social reintegration of the country after years of conflict
* The early successes of the project show the impact of targeted investments in infrastructure and the agricultural value chain
KINSHASA, 9th February, 2011: As the world grapples with concerns over rising food prices, early returns from a project in the DR Congo show that smart investments along the agricultural value chain can go a long way toward lowering prices on local markets.
For a long time, crossing the Loange River was a major headache for merchants and passengers who traveled along National Highway No. 1 between the cities of Kikwit in Bandundu province and Tshikapa in Kasaï-Occidental in the vast country in the heart of Africa.
Whenever they reached this point, they had to unload their trucks on one side of an old bridge that hung over the river and then load them again on the other side.
– This transshipment would last two days and it would take a total of five days to travel between the two cities, recalls John Kukulu, coordinator of the bridge rehabilitation effort funded by the World Bank under its Emergency Multi-sector Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project (EMRRP).
Dubbed the “Fiftieth Anniversary Bridge” because it was opened during the celebration of DR Congo’s 50th anniversary of independence, the bridge truly defies nature.
Stretched over 440 meters, it is the country’s second longest structure of this type, after the Maréchal Bridge (722 meters) that spans the Congo River, linking the capital city of Kinshasa to the port the city of Matadi, in Bas-Congo province.
Making a Real Economic Impact
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Kilde: Verdensbanken
