Japan constructs new bridge linking Addis, Djibouti

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Will provide loan for Alto Langano geothermal project

The only existing bridge that links Ethiopia and Djibouti and was built 43 years ago is to be replaced by a new 145 m long and 40 m high two-way bridge with a 230 million birr finance secured from the Japanese government.

The old bridge, which is currently limited to serving trucks, only allows one to pass at a time. The vehicles crossing over the bridge are required to wait for some two or three minutes for their turn. The bridge is built over the Awash River, some 350 km from Addis.

Officials of the Japanese project contractor, Sato Kogyo, and the consulting firm Central Consultant Inc. under the implementing agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), told reporters on Thursday at the site that building the bridge and equating one km road on both directions (Addis Ababa, Djibouti) required the import of a special type of reinforcement bar from Japan. Some 700 tons were imported. In addition to that, polymerized asphalt was vital to level the roads and serve longer years ahead. Hence, Sato Kogyo brought in an additional 2,000 drums of polymerized asphalt. In a nutshell, the construction consumed some 12 thousand tons of cement.

Osamu Hasegawa, project manager for the replacement of Awash Bridge on A1 truck road, said the construction of the new bridge took two years and is expected to be finalized by the end of next September. As of June 25, some 84 percent of the work was accomplished, Hasegawa said. The Japanese contractor signed the deal for the job in 2012.

The lifeline for the import and export sector of Ethiopia, the bridge, is assumed to be in service for some fifty years and if flooding and other calamities are contained, it can serve for 100 years, Hasegawa affirmed.

Driving from the capital, on the left side of the A1 truck road Awash Bridge, the Chinese are stretching a railway structure heading to the Port of Djibouti. There are two existing bridges extending over the Awash River adjacent to these two new structures. The existing truck road bridge was laid during the reign of Emperor Haile-Selassie, and next to this bridge stretches an old metallic railway bridge nonfunctional anymore built under the same Emperor.

According to Hasegawa, it was a hectic and time-consuming experience to import anything into Ethiopia. The custom clearance and documentation, he said, were very unfriendly for such a construction to idle for months. The other difficulties faced include the deep bedrocks, which made the excavation stage tougher for the 100 or so men Hasegawa employs. In about four months, however, the smooth construction would go on. According to Jun Fujimura, chief resident engineer for the project, the 43-year-old existing bridge will retire to serve only for emergency diversion and mostly will remain as a pedestrian bridge. The speed limit of vehicles is expected to increase to 85km/h rather than 20 km/h following the construction of the new bridge. In the same way, the weight limit at present under 34 tons will go up close to 41 in the near future.

In a related news, Japan is sponsoring to provide a loan facility for the Alto-Langano geothermal project. The ongoing geothermal project’s feasibility study will be expected to prove it has the capacity of generating some 70 MW. In that regard, Koo Nakahmura, spokesperson at the embassy, told The Reporter that the amount Japan may extend to the project depends on further studies.

Source: The Reporter