Mambasa, May 21st, 2025(CPA) – Work to tighten the bolts of the Epulu bridge over the river of the same name has started in the territory of Mambasa, Ituri province, north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the CPA learnt on Wednesday from an administrative source. ‘We are at the Epulu bridge on provincial road 430 in Mambasa territory. In view of the deterioration of the structure, members of the Congo Business Federation (FEC) were careful to contact us to prevent the structure from collapsing. Now we’re in the middle of tightening up some of the bolts on this bridge linking Haut-Uélé and Ituri provinces’, said Daniel Ngoy, head of brigade at the local roads office. He invited other people of goodwill motivated by the spirit of development to support this project, adding that the work, which consists of tightening the bolts of this structure, will be carried out over a period of one month, barring unforeseen circumstances. Senior Superintendent Jean-Baptiste Matadi Munyapandi, the police administrator for the Mambasa territory, said that he had taken the initiative to get the FEC and other associations to re-launch the project to rehabilitate the bridge, which was already a danger to users. ‘Friends got involved. They took up collections and came up with the money to get the work started. So the Roads Office was given the responsibility, with the funds available, so that it could start to do something,’ he said. However, the Chief Superintendent suggested that the need is still immense, before stressing the need for everyone concerned with development to do their bit. For his part, Amos Amoma Mukoko, a representative of the FEC, said that it was out of a spirit of patriotism that his organization was involved in financing the rehabilitation work on the bridge, given its state of disrepair. ‘In addition to the Congo Business Federation (FEC), the transporters‘ association and the logging companies have joined forces to raise the funds needed to start the work’, he said. Finally, he urged other social categories, including farmers, to contribute according to their capacity to ensure that the work is a real success in the service of the community.
Built in colonial times, this 25-tonne structure is 100 meters long and 3.70 meters wide, he said.