Bridges that connect—Bridges to Prosperity
A good transportation infrastructure is not a given in every region of the world. Changing this situation is part of HOCHTIEF’s core business. Our sponsorship commitments are the social complement of our business activities: our mission is to better connect people. That is why our cooperation with the non-governmental organization, Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), is one of HOCHTIEF’s main areas of sponsorship. Together we are building footbridges in remote regions of the world, thus providing the local communities with better access to trade, education and medical care.
By also getting involved in the world’s poorer regions, HOCHTIEF wishes to both improve the infrastructure and transfer knowledge about bridge-building. The footbridges being built in conjunction with B2P are important links for the respective communities because they cross rivers that swell enormously during the rainy season, turning them into dangerous obstacles. HOCHTIEF ensures that they can be crossed safely.
Each bridge moreover represents a win-win situation for everybody involved because ten employees are sent to the given region for each project, to support the construction work and to share their know-how with the local inhabitants. In this way the locals can maintain the bridges themselves later on. The HOCHTIEF employees become familiar with a new culture and discover what it’s like to do something good with colleagues under the most basic of conditions, and thus help other people. They bring this team spirit back home with them and apply it to their daily work.
Our American subsidiaries—and, most notably, the infrastructure specialists at Flatiron—have already been supporting B2P for several years on projects in Latin America. Flatiron makes a special contribution as B2P’s strategic partner, and provides its specialist knowledge to help develop the bridge models. In 2012 HOCHTIEF in Germany and Europe joined in this work, and has been supporting projects in Rwanda since then. By the end of 2016 a total of 20 bridges have been built that are now used by an estimated 5,800 people every day.
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Bridges to Prosperity Rwanda 2012
Can a bridge be built in just two weeks? Yes, it can—even if the HOCHTIEF employees initially thought it was impossible. Naturally, it can’t be compared with the bridge across the Great Belt. It was a footbridge that they built in Rwanda in 2012. For the first time, HOCHTIEF in Europe collaborated with the non-profit organization, Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), sponsored material, and sent ten employees to Africa. They experienced a foreign culture, great willingness to help, and abundant team spirit in Rwanda’s hilly Gatsibo District. At the same time, they were able to benefit from the experience of the HOCHTIEF company, Flatiron, whose employees had already completed several projects in Latin America. Nonetheless, this bridge across the Nyamabare River, which flows into the Nile many kilometers to the north, was still a tough challenge. After all, the bridge had a span of almost 100 meters—demanding special coordination, very precise planning, and great logistical skills. In addition, the team worked without heavy machinery, relying on their own muscle power. After a core construction phase of two weeks, the helpers from HOCHTIEF, B2P and the local communities had done it. The inauguration was a huge celebration, with much singing and dancing. This project was also special for another reason: it was the 100th bridge initiated by B2P.
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Rwanda 2013: Bakokwe
“The locals are so happy that the bridge is completed. I heard the schoolchildren singing: ‘The bridge is great. No more wet clothes when we go to school.’ The HOCHTIEF team really did a fantastic job. I am still thrilled by the group dynamic.” Words of praise from the Bridges to Prosperity (B2P) Country Manager Rwanda for the team after it completed a footbridge in Rwanda in 2013. The structure across the Bakokwe River is 68 meters long and is west of the Rwandan capital, Kigali. While building with local helpers and B2P representatives, the HOCHTIEF team had to overcome various hurdles. For one, the timber was transported to the wrong side of the river, and the team had to carry the consignment—80 beams, each weighing 35 kilograms—through the river. They all simply rolled up their trouser legs and got down to work.
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Rwanda 2014: Ngorero
Ten HOCHTIEF employees completed the Ngorero project together with local helpers and the non-profit organization, Bridges to Prosperity (B2P) in 2014. 85 kilometers west of the Rwandan capital Kigali, they built a footbridge with a span of 54 meters across the Kiromozi River. In one of this African country’s most mountainous regions there are many water courses that can be transformed into raging torrents after heavy rainfall. Those who try to cross using the large stones on the river bed risk their lives because huge masses of debris are swept along the river. The bridge built by HOCHTIEF ensures that people can now cross safely in order to get to school, medical facilities, churches and central markets in the neighboring community.
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Rwanda 2015: Muguba
Rwanda, mid-November 2015: the over 70-meter-long suspension bridge made of steel cables with wooden planking is ready. Ten HOCHTIEF employees from Germany, the UK and the Czech Republic built it in conjunction with representatives of the non-profit organization, Bridges to Prosperity (B2P)—under the most basic conditions. The bridge crosses the Ururumanza River in the Muhanga-Ruhango District in Rwanda’s South Province. Apart from the local helpers who tackled the bridge project with huge energy every day, there was also an audience of children on hand. They were delighted with soap bubbles—something they had never seen before—and laughed happily as they held the Polaroid photos given to them by the HOCHTIEF employees. And, right at the end, they were even give a bridge that they can now cross with a smile on their faces. Several hundred girls and boys can now safely cross the bridge during the rainy season, to get to their schools on the other side. The bridge’s great importance was demonstrated by a visit by the lady mayor, who came to talk with the team on the very first day of the project. Just one year before, two people had died while trying to cross the river during the rainy season. Such incidents should be a thing of the past now that the newly-built bridge is in place. A total of 12,000 people live in this area, and around 2,000 people use the bridge on market days.
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Nicaragua 2015: El Pueblito and Jocote Arriba
In 2015 employees of the HOCHTIEF Americas division built two footbridges in Nicaragua—working closely at all times with Bridges to Prosperity (B2P) and the local communities. The first (El Pueblito) is a 100-meter-long suspension bridge which will greatly benefit around 850 people in the area. In the past, many children and teenagers have missed school because the river was too swollen to cross during the rainy season. The new bridge is helping them to attend school regularly. In April, Flatiron built the 60-meter-long Jocote Arriba Bridge (photo). Owing to the specific local conditions, the team had to develop special planning parameters and new technical standards. These conditions meant that the dedicated helpers constantly had to come up with new ideas—for using as few resources as possible, for example. And a special effort was made to use local products: this is an objective on all B2P projects and is intended to strengthen the regional economy.
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Rwanda 2016: Mariba
It is schoolchildren in particular who benefit from the new Mariba Bridge which was completed in November 2016. The over 40-meter-long structure allows them to get to school faster and far more safely. The construction work made rapid progress, and the HOCHTIEF employees were closely observed as they tackled their tasks. The residents of the local communities attentively followed the work and welcomed the bridge-builders every morning to the construction site. In addition to HOCHTIEF employees from Germany, Poland and Qatar, there were also two young workers from the Australian HOCHTIEF subsidiary, CIMIC—thus expanding Group-internal networking and knowledge transfer. In order to leave the community with a little something above and beyond the bridge, the team presented children at the nearby elementary school with 200 mathematics packs containing pens, rulers and set squares, as well as balls and frisbees. The schoolchildren were thrilled, and the HOCHTIEF team gained an exciting insight into daily school life in Rwanda.