Matadi Bridge
bridge over the Kongo River
The Matadi Bridge, also known as the OEBK Bridge for Organisation pour l’équipement de Banana-Kinshasa, and formerly known as Pont Maréchal in French, is a suspension bridge across the Congo River at Matadi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was completed in 1983, by a consortium of Japanese companies. With a main span of 520 metres (1,710 ft), it was said to be the longest suspension bridge in Africa from its inauguration until the 2018 opening of the Maputo–Katembe bridge. The bridge crosses the Congo River at its narrowest point, just downstream from the port of Matadi. It is the only bridge across the Congo River proper.
Construction
Matadi Bridge was completed in 1983 by a consortium of Japanese companies, led by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries. It has a main span of 520 metres (1,710 ft) and crosses the Congo River.
Matadi Bridge was built with 14,000 tons of steel. The bridge is designed in a way to emphasize that the towers are made up of bar members, with each tower being a single rigid frame. 34.5 billion Japanese yen was paid for by the Japanese government at the request of the erstwhile President Mobutu.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Matadi Bridge” as bridge over the Kongo River. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as bridge over the Kongo River. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2849739. Authority coordinates are -5.825, 13.434. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983 and 2018.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Matadi Bridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Matadi Bridge primary sources, Matadi Bridge archive and Matadi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Matadi Bridge”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Matadi Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.