>COWI to build bridge in South Africa

The Nelson Mandela Bridge will breathe new life into the inner city of Johannesburg and support a process of inner city renewal, driven by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA).

COWI is to assist the design of the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa. The bridge will connect Newtown, the cultural hub of the city, with the rest of the city and its financial centre. It is hoped that the 284 metre long cable stayed bridge, together with planned urban development, will breathe new life into the suburb.
COWI is a member of the winning consortium which competed for the project against five other international companies. The South African Contracting Joint Venture, the Grinaker-LTA – BCW Joint Venture, consisting of Grinaker-LTA Limited and Bafokeng Civil Works (Pty) Ltd, leads the LBA Consortium together with three local engineering companies BKS, ARQ and PD Naidoo & Associates, the Danish architects Dissing + Weitling and COWI as consulting engineers
COWI is responsible for the construction design of the bridge's superstructure. This is the basis on which the contractor will carry out the actual construction of the bridge. The bridge will cost approximately DKK 85 million to build and, if all goes according to plan, should be completed in March, 2003.
"It was our technical solution, which supported the bridge's elegant design, that lead to our winning the project," maintains Lars Lundorf Nielsen, COWI .

COWI is at present involved in bridge construction projects in Sweden, South Africa, Chile, Korea and Hong Kong.