Ambassador Hiroshi Ueda said on Thursday in Braila that the suspension bridge in Braila, built by the Japanese company IHI Systems, is a conclusive example of the connection between Japan and the EU, established through the economic partnership in year 2019.
“Today’s ceremony marks the erection of the catwalk platform of the suspension bridge at Braila in the year of the centennial of diplomatic relations between Japan and Romania. The bridge is built by the association between companies IHI from Japan and Astaldi from Italy. This bridge is very important for improving the connection between the Black Sea area and the eastern part of Romania, but also between Romania, an EU member country, and the Republic of Moldova, a non-EU country, and thus with all European countries. It is also a conclusive example of the connection between Japan and the EU, established through the partnership in 2019. I am very proud that Japanese technology is contributing to such a significant project,” Hiroshi Ueda said at ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Romania.
The diplomat mentioned that 100 years ago, when the diplomatic relations between Japan and Romania were laid, the whole world faced the “terrible Spanish flu” and today, on the centennial of these relations, we face the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Embassy of Japan and the company IHI Systems organized on Thursday, aboard a ship on the Danube, in the immediate vicinity of the bridge site, a ceremony dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Romania.
Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna and local authorities from Braila, Tulcea and Galati were present at the event marking the centenary of bilateral relations between Romania and Japan.
The tender for the construction of the suspension bridge over the Danube was won, in January 2018, by the association of IHI Systems from Japan and Astaldi from Italy and the contract stipulates that the work will be completed in 2023, given that 18 months are allocated for design and 36 months for building.
For this purpose, non-reimbursable funds were allocated in the amount of approximately 363 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund, money that will be used both for the construction of the bridge and for the construction of a 23-kilometer road network, which will connect with the bridge.
The suspension bridge over the Danube will have a length of 1,974 meters, of which 1,120 meters represent the central opening, to which are added two lateral openings of 489 meters on the bank from Braila and 364 meters on the bank from Tulcea. At the time of completion, it will be the third bridge in Europe in terms of central opening and length.
Transport Minister Drula: At end-2022, with Bridge over the Danube, connecting roads will be ready as well
The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Catalin Drula, declared on Thursday, in Braila, that the roads that will connect with the Suspension Bridge over the Danube will be ready at the end of next year, once the bridge works are completed, with the traffic to be open from the day of the bridge’s inauguration, including for heavy traffic.
“We have, on the one hand, the bridge itself, whose construction is advancing according to the schedule, and, on the other hand, the connecting roads on the Braila and Jijila banks, completely unblocked this year, along their entire length. The bridge will open at the end of 2022, together with 10 km of connecting roads, on the Braila-National Road 22 (Smardan-Macin) relation,” declared Catalin Drula.
The minister of transport mentioned the presence at the Braila Bridge of the Japanese Ambassador to Romania, Hiroshi Ueda, who participated in the ceremony dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Romania, in the context in which the Japanese company IHI deals the implementation of the bridge project in Braila, together with the Italian company Astaldi.
The minister of transport went to the construction site of the bridge together with the Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna, who said on this occasion that the Suspension Bridge over the Danube from Braila represents “an unprecedented project in Romania due to its complexity and the level of technology introduced here”, being also “an objective with special symbolism and because we have European financing, one of the providers is from Japan, the other is from Italy, and some of the suppliers are from Romania.”
Compiled from Agerpres
Photo: Facebook/Catalin Drula
