Daewoo E&C Completes Kazungula Bridge in Botswana, Africa

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Daewoo E&C announced on the 8th that it has completed the Kazungula Bridge, which crosses the Zambezi River located at the border between Botswana and Zambia in Africa.

Daewoo E&C received the acceptance certificate issued by the governments of Botswana and Zambia, the clients, on the 5th of last month, and also obtained the certificate for achieving '10 million hours without accidents.'

The Kazungula Bridge project is the first extradosed bridge construction project that Daewoo E&C secured overseas in 2014.

Since Daewoo E&C carried out five projects in Botswana in the 1980s, this project is significant as it marks the entry into the untapped African markets of Botswana and Zambia, where domestic construction companies had no prior achievements.

The Kazungula Bridge is the largest project in Southern Africa, consisting of a 923m long and 18.5m wide extradosed bridge, a 687m connecting road, and a 2,170m single-track railway. Through this completion, it is expected to contribute to a revolutionary improvement in transportation and logistics infrastructure across Southern Africa.

Since the Kazungula Bridge carries both railway and road traffic, safety was crucial due to the complex vibrations applied. Therefore, the extradosed bridge type, which allows for longer pier spacing and is advantageous for vibration control, was applied.

An extradosed bridge is a bridge where cables reinforcing the girder (the deck between piers) are anchored to pylons like those of a cable-stayed bridge. Due to the sturdy characteristics of the deck, extradosed bridges are structurally more advantageous than cable-stayed bridges for railway bridges where vibrations can be induced.

The Kazungula Bridge, with six pylons installed continuously, boasts an excellent appearance and is expected to become a regional landmark harmonizing with the pristine natural scenery of Southern Africa.

A Daewoo E&C official said, “Unlike other African countries, Botswana and Zambia are landlocked countries without access to the sea, so building logistics infrastructure such as roads and railways to export abundant resources overseas has been a national task and a 40-year long-cherished project. It is highly significant that Daewoo E&C successfully completed the Kazungula Bridge with the achievement of 10 million hours without accidents despite the harsh African environment and the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.