Connecting regions in the Central African Republic: five bridges installed in the south-east of the country

Following the installation of four bridges in the prefectures of Lobaye, Ombella-Mpoko and Ouham Pendé in 2019, in late March 2020, Expertise France launched a new mission to install five bridges in Mbomou, in the south-east of the country. “The lack of investments and the instability in CAR in recent years have contributed to the deterioration of roads in the country, particularly in this region: instead of being a crossroads, it has been cut in two with a part turned towards South Sudan and the other towards the capital Bangui”, explains Fafaadé Lokossou, head of the project to open up Central African regions. “This situation means that our action is important in contributing to connect Mbomou to the rest of the country, but also difficult in terms of access. For example, it took our teams 2 weeks to get to the first installation site for the bridges, which is 835 km from the capital”, he adds.

A security and organisational challenge

The team, which has been deployed in the field for seven weeks, has supervised the installation of the five bridges. They have been assembled by members of the FACA from the Engineer Battalion, who have been trained by French military cooperation.

“The first challenge we faced was security: the convoy passed through several areas where there are rebel groups”, says the project manager. “The cooperation with MINUSCA, the United Nations force, was useful in this respect to secure the convoy, the various work sites and the camps”, he explains.

The team also faced an organisational challenge related to the Covid-19 pandemic. “The engineers from the French National Emergency Bridges Centre (CNPS) were supposed to supervise the works, but due to the lockdown measures decided in France, they were unable to travel from Paris”, says Fafaadé Lokossou. “But we managed to mobilise internal resources to handle this supervision and the management of the works, which were completed on schedule”, he points out.

An exemplary partnership between CAR, the European Union and France

“This project is an excellent example of cooperation, as several national and international actors joined hands under the coordination of Expertise France to ensure the success of the mission: the European Union, which is financing the project implementation via the Bêkou Fund; France, which gave the bridge parts; the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), from which 35 elements took part in the assembly of the bridges, and the Ministry of Public Works, whose workers are responsible for installing the decking on the built bridges”, explains Fafaadé Lokossou.

Installation of the forth bridge, at kilometer marker 37.

“We should also remember the role of MINUSCA in securing the sensitive area, and the Central African gendarmerie, which supported the team in areas where there was less of a security risk”, he adds.

Positive reaction to the initiative in the field

The installation of these bridges will allow the free movement of people and goods. It will also contribute to the economic recovery by facilitating exports and the transport of agricultural production in Mbomou. “In each municipality, we met the local authorities – prefects, sub-prefects, mayors and village leaders – who reacted very positively to the project”, says Fafaadé Lokossou.

The team and the village leader in Selim in front of the bridge n° 5

“We also met the people, who were pleased to see the constructions in their municipalities and, especially, to take part in them. We employed about twenty young people on each work site for the earthwork on the sites and to watch over the bridge parts between the unloading and the start of the works. So, many of them were pleased to have taken part in improving their living conditions”, he says.

The 24-month project for the opening-up of regions in the Central African Republic is financed by the European Union via the Bêkou Fund, the European trust fund for CAR, with a contribution from the French State. It is implemented by Expertise France and aims to rehabilitate transport infrastructure to help open up regions in CAR.