The Okavango River Bridge is the only bridge over the Okavango River in Botswana. It was built so the north-eastern part of the delta can be reached without having to rely on ferries.  The structure contributes significantly to the improvement and development of the infrastructure of the Okavango delta, as well as being a tourist attraction leading to an economic revitalisation of the region.

Botswana is situated in Southern Africa and covers an area of 566,730 sq. km. It is inhabited by 2.5 million people, making it one of the most sparsely inhabited countries in the world. Nonetheless, it attracts tourists from all over the globe.

The Okavango River in Botswana flows into an inland delta, creating fertile areas in which a spectacular variety of plant and animal species can be found. To improve the connection with the north-eastern side of the delta, a cable-stayed bridge was built over the Okavango River.

Opened to traffic in 2022 and praised all over the world, the bridge has been awarded prizes and nominations, such as the IABSE Awards 2023 in Zurich in the “Large Road and Railway Bridges” category.  

And once again, we have been nominated for the IABSE Awards 2024 in the “International Community Development” category. The judging panel was won over by the fact that the Okavango Bridge plays an important role in the creation of new investment and employment opportunities and the promotion of tourism, commerce and the movement of goods in order to advance the development of Botswana.  

The pylons of this cable-stayed bridge are designed in the shape of crossing elephant tusks to emphasise the symbolic importance of this bridge.

The goal of the design was to create the maximum number of symmetries, as the bridge follows a straight line. The bridge is symmetric in both the transverse and longitudinal directions,  resulting in a central span of exactly 200 m and two 100 m end spans. The cables are arranged in eight groups of nine cables each. The resulting distance between the cross girders is generally 10.0 m;  only at the central point of the bridge and in the area of the pylon axes are the distances larger at 15.0 m and 25.0 m, respectively. The highest point of the structure is in the middle of this river bridge; the longitudinal inclination is 0.5% towards either side.

We would like to thank all participating parties:

• Client: The Government of the Republic of Botswana, Roads Department, Ministry and Transport and Communication
• (Pty) Ltd., Consulting Engineers & Planners Broadhurst, Gaborone  
• APC Oosthuizen, Johannesburg, South Africa  
• Seteco Ingegneria, Genova, Italy  
• Superstructures Consulting Engineers, Pretoria, South Africa
• Dipl. Ing. Holger Cordes, Hamburg, Germany