forum on china-africa cooperation | report: new landmark lights up abidjan - commemorating the first anniversary of the opening of the kokodi bridge in cote d'ivoire
2024-08-31
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xinhua news agency, abidjan, august 30report: new landmark lights up abidjan - commemorating the first anniversary of the opening of the kokodi bridge in côte d'ivoire
xinhua news agency reporter zhou chuyun zhang jian
"the cocody bridge is not only an architectural masterpiece, but also the first bridge in côte d'ivoire to be equipped with lighting. its cables 'light up' the beauty of côte d'ivoire in the night sky," said jean-marc ogier, technical engineer of the cocody bridge project.
on august 12, the cocodi bridge in cote d'ivoire, built by a chinese company, was completed and opened to traffic for one year. over the past year, this largest cable-stayed bridge in west africa has greatly eased local traffic pressure and has become a new landmark in abidjan, the economic capital of cote d'ivoire.
this is a drone photo of the cocodi bridge taken in abidjan, the economic capital of côte d'ivoire, on january 9, 2024. (photo by xinhua news agency reporter han xu)
abidjan is naturally divided into several areas by the lagoon. motor vehicles between the areas mainly rely on a limited number of bridges, resulting in serious traffic congestion. in recent years, with the acceleration of urbanization along the lagoon, a large influx of population has further aggravated traffic pressure, which not only affects the daily travel of citizens, but also restricts abidjan's development potential.
the cocody bridge, also known as the abidjan fifth bridge, built by china road and bridge corporation, is the fifth cross-lake bridge in abidjan. it spans the ebriye lagoon and connects prado and cocody in the abidjan city area. the total length of the main line is about 1.63 kilometers, of which the main bridge is 630 meters long, the main span is 200 meters, and the main tower is 108.6 meters high.
oje once studied in china and obtained a master's degree in economics. after graduation, he returned to his hometown and joined china road and bridge corporation five years ago. according to him, after the completion of the bridge, people traveling from the southern part of abidjan to cocody no longer need to take the northern lakeside road and roundabout, which greatly shortens the travel time.
"with this bridge, it only takes me five minutes to get from prado to cocody," said driver surama dramane.
on august 12, 2023, ivorian president ouattara praised the cocodi bridge at its opening ceremony, saying it is both practical and beautiful, and is a high-quality project that will improve people's livelihood and effectively alleviate traffic congestion in abidjan. according to cao changwei, general manager of the chinese project department, the average daily traffic volume of the bridge has been between 35,000 and 45,000 vehicles since it was opened to traffic.
in january this year, the 34th african cup of nations (afcon) was held in cote d'ivoire. at the opening ceremony, the balloon model of the cocodi bridge slowly "rose", becoming a highlight of the opening ceremony and also "capturing" more fans for the cocodi bridge.
simon pierre loufa, an engineer from the republic of congo, was attracted by the cocodi bridge when he was watching the opening ceremony of the african cup. during his visit to abidjan, the cocodi bridge became one of the landmarks he had to "check in".
"before returning home, i must see this masterpiece with my own eyes." standing next to the bridge, lufa carefully looked at the main bridge and took out his mobile phone to take pictures from time to time.
ojie said that the cocodi bridge project has created more job opportunities for local residents, and he and his ivorian colleagues have also learned a lot of professional knowledge. "i sincerely thank chinese companies and china-cote d'ivoire cooperation for their great contribution to the development of cote d'ivoire."
