Itaparica Bridge – Brazil

The Itaparica cable-stayed bridge linking the city of Salvador to Itaparica Island in Bahia bay in Brazil is a major project. With a total length of 12 .4km it will be the second longest bridge in the country and the longest sea-crossing cable-stayed bridge in Latin America.

Facilitating journeys and stimulating the economy

The project is key to the development of Bahia as vehicles will no longer have to go around the Bay of All Saints, the principal bay in the state. The bridge greatly reduces the distance between the state capital Salvador and the south of the state by nearly an hour’s drive and will contribute to creating wealth in northeast Brazil.

Itaparica bridge is one of several projects being financed in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. At the end of 2020, a public-private partnership (PPP) contract was signed between the State of Bahia and a Chinese consortium comprising China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corp (CR20G) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the bridge.

Team collaboration across the globe

SYSTRA Brazil, in a consortium with engineering firm Maia Melo, is responsible for the Project Management Consultancy (PMC) of the Itaparica bridge. To meet the requirements of the PPP, SYSTRA’s Brazilian teams will work closely with Bridge Group technical committee members from SYSTRA IBT in the US and SYSTRA Korea.

In the context of its assignments, the Maia Melo/ SYSTRA consortium will ensure the works supervision and review of the detailed design, which is being done by the engineering companies Concremat / Sener for the Chinese private JV.

The PPP contract is for 35 years, including 5 years for the design and construction. The scope includes the bridge itself and the access points: a tunnel on the Salvador side, a road network on Itaparica island.