- 223 m high and 1,132 m long bridge over the river Mtentu in eastern South Africa
- Contract value: approx. € 106 million
- Construction to last 40 months
Vienna/Port Elizabeth, 5 September 2017—STRABAG SE, the publicly listed European-based technology group for construction services, has been awarded a bridge project in South Africa. The group’s subsidiary STRABAG International GmbH has been hired by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) to build a 1,132 m long bridge over the river Mtentu near the town of Flagstaff in the eastern part of the country. When it is completed, it will be Africa’s highest bridge. Construction is being carried out in a 50:50 joint venture with South African construction company AVENG Grinaker-LTA. The contract has a total value of 1.634 billion South African Rand, which is approximately € 106 million. The construction works are expected to last for 40 months.
“While our focus is clearly on the European market, we do occasionally execute projects outside of Europe in which we can especially apply our technical know-how. With this in mind, we look forward to realising Africa’s highest bridge together with a local partner,” says Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE. The project will be executed using two bridge building methods. The northern and southern portions of the bridge will be built using incremental launching, the centre using the balanced cantilever method. The completed bridge will stand on a total of 13 piers.