Major new bridge for Maputo Bay

Bridge works to begin in 2015

Construction of the suspension bridge across Maputo Bay is expected to begin in early 2015 and is due for completion by the end of 2017.

The bridge, which will link cental Maputo in the north with Catembe on the southern side of the channel, will be 680 metres long, have two 137m-high towers and two anchor blocks for suspending cables.

The project's management company, Empresa de Desenvolvimento de Maputo Sul (EDMS), described it as the "largest single suspended span on the African continent."

The bridge will have two access viaducts in Maputo and Catembe, and will be high enough not to interfere with maritime navigation in the bay.

In addition to the bridge the project involves the construction of the Maputo Ring Road, running from Catembe to Ponta do Ourio in the south-east of the country, on the border with the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, and connecting the towns of Boane and Bela Vista in between.

Both the bridge and the Maputo Ring Road (ECM) are being implemented by the China Road and Bridge Corporation and the total cost is estimated at $725 million.

Both projects have led to the relocation of services and households in the area, with about 1,000 family homes being demolished to make way for the new infrastructure, mainly in the Malanga district on the northern side of Maputo Bay.