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A ship loaded with 44 containers and more than 800 tons of equipment departed from China on March 30, heading to Salvador, carrying the material needed to build a support platform for the construction of the Salvador-Itaparica bridge, which will have 12.4 kilometers over the sea and will be the largest in Latin America in this category.
The ship loaded with Chinese equipment is already on its way to the Bay of All Saints and is expected to anchor in Salvador in the second half of May. On board, 44 containers carry the materials that will be used in the first stages of construction of the Salvador-Itaparica bridge, a project estimated at R$ 15 billion that promises to transform the mobility of about 10 million residents of Bahia. With a continuous length of 12.4 kilometers over the water, the structure will surpass the maritime section of the Rio-Niterói bridge and become the largest link over the sea ever built in all of Latin America.
The forecast is that the construction works will begin in June, after the release of permits by the municipalities of Salvador and Vera Cruz. The concessionaire responsible for the project, formed by the Chinese state-owned companies China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), has already submitted the authorization requests last week. The total construction period is five years, with inauguration expected in June 2031. After delivery, the concessionaire will operate the bridge for another 29 years, totaling 35 years of contract.
What the ship loaded brings from China and what the material is for
According to information released by the portal Jornal de Brasilia, the 44 containers on board the ship loaded do not contain parts of the bridge itself, but the components of a side platform that will be fixed to the seabed before the construction of the main structure begins. This is a Chinese technology that has never been used in Latin America, designed to serve as a support base for workers, delivery of materials, and general installations along the entire length of the work.
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The platform functions as a kind of floating construction site. It is mounted parallel to the layout of the bridge, allowing construction to progress without relying on dozens of vessels positioned simultaneously at sea. According to Carlos Prates, spokesperson for the concessionaire, this engineering reduces by 70% the number of vessels that would be necessary to support the work. When the bridge is completed, the entire structure of the platform will be dismantled and removed from the Bay of All Saints.
The numbers that make the Salvador-Itaparica bridge a continental record
The 12.4 kilometers of the Salvador-Itaparica bridge correspond to the continuous stretch over water, which differentiates it from the current continental record holder. The Rio-Niterói bridge, with a total length of 13.29 kilometers, includes land access and urban viaducts in its measurement, while the stretch effectively over the Carioca sea totals approximately 9 kilometers. In length over water, the new Bahian bridge will be more than three kilometers longer.
In addition to the maritime stretch, the project includes 4.4 kilometers of road access in the capital, with tunnels and viaducts, the construction of a 22-kilometer expressway on the Island of Itaparica, and the duplication of a section of the BA-001 highway. The structure will have 169 pillars and will consume about 660,000 cubic meters of concrete, a volume equivalent to the construction of 7.5 Maracanã stadiums. One of the construction sites will operate at a shipyard in Maragogipe, where the precast elements will be manufactured.
The next steps in construction and what still depends on approval
The platform implementation phase already has all the necessary environmental licenses. What is missing for the effective start of construction are the permits from the municipalities of Salvador and Vera Cruz, which are expected to be released within 30 days after the protocol. The installation of the bridge itself awaits authorization from Inema, the Institute of Environment and Water Resources of Bahia, responsible for issuing state licenses.
In the second half of the year, eight more vessels will come from China to Brazil, bringing specific equipment such as multipurpose tugboats, pile driving ships, and material mixing ships. However, the structural material for the project will be produced in Brazilian territory, as will the hiring of labor, which will be concentrated in the project region. The forecast is for about 7,000 jobs, both direct and indirect, which should significantly impact the local economy.
What changes for those who cross between Salvador and Itaparica
Currently, the crossing between the Bahian capital and the Island of Itaparica depends on the ferry service, a maritime journey of approximately one hour known for its long boarding lines. A small car pays R$ 64.70 on weekdays and up to R$ 91.70 on weekends and holidays. The operation of the bridge will include toll charges that, according to the concessionaire, will be close to the current fare charged by the ferry.
The practical difference will be the travel time. With the bridge, the journey that currently takes one hour by ferry, not counting the waiting time in lines, could be done in minutes by road. The Bahian government estimates that the project will have a direct economic impact on the lives of 70% of the state’s population, benefiting about 250 municipalities that depend on the connection with the capital for commerce, health, and education.
A 16-year promise that finally begins to come to fruition
The Salvador-Itaparica bridge is an old promise dating back to 2009, when the first discussions to make the project viable began during Jaques Wagner’s government in Bahia. Negotiations progressed slowly over the years and gained new momentum only in 2020, under Rui Costa’s administration. The arrival of the ship loaded with the first equipment marks the moment when the project ceases to be a political promise and begins to materialize in the Bay of All Saints.
President Lula publicly acknowledged the delay of the project during his visit to Bahia in July of last year, recalling the numerous times he pressed for the progress of the work with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The most visible phase for the population, with the actual construction of the bridge over the sea, is expected to begin only in 2027, after the completion of the initial structural interventions. Until then, what the people of Bahia will see is the assembly of the support platform and the preparation of the construction sites.
Do you believe that the Salvador-Itaparica bridge will be completed by the deadline of 2031, or will the history of delays for this project repeat itself? Leave your opinion in the comments, we want to know what you think about the impact of this construction on the lives of the people of Bahia.
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