Construction of the Okavango River bridge at Mohembo in Botswana is expected to be complete in May 2021. According to senior resident engineer for the project, Veeranagowda Patel, the project is currently 79% complete.
“Most of the main items are done while the erection of a flyover across the river will commence in a few days,” he said.
The project commenced on November 8, 2016 with an original completion date of July 7 2019. It has, however, experienced setbacks, which Patel partly attributes to the COVID-19 lockdown that made it difficult to procure some materials from outside the country. The project encompasses the construction of a 400-metre long cable stayed bridge over the main channel, a 761-metre steel girder bridge with concrete slab and pedestrian walkways.
It also includes electrical installation and reticulation over the bridge, construction of approximately 3km bitumen standard approach road and associated stormwater drainage works. The final works will include electrical installation and reticulation to the 1.161km long bridge and street lighting along the 3km approach road. According to Vice President, Slumber Tsogwane, Okavango River Bridge is one of the biggest projects that the government had planned to undertake a long time ago, but was postponed because of budgetary constraints.
“Completion of the bridge will see effortless access to villages as well as improved tourism activities in the area. Communities should therefore take good care of the project after completion,” he said.
