São Tomé Lembá Bridge Runs 1 Year Late Over Soil Tests
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE · INFRASTRUCTURE
Key Facts
- —The country São Tomé and Príncipe is a two-island Gulf of Guinea state of about 240,000 people, per the World Bank.
- —What happened The roads chief told Téla Nón the Lembá bridge is a year late because no detailed soil study preceded its launch.
- —The cause Drilling found 13 metres of mud under the riverbed, so the bridge now needs concrete piles 30 metres deep.
- —The money World Bank award notices put the Lembá works contract at US$8.23 million; the director says costs will rise but gave no figure.
- —New timeline The director says the World Bank has approved the new design, and he promised the bridge within 12 months, in 2027.
- —What it means for you The US State Department rates the islands Level 2, and the island’s far north stays hard to reach by road until the bridge opens.
- —Still open The size of the cost overrun, who covers it and a firm start date have not been published.
The new Lembá bridge in São Tomé and Príncipe, a World Bank-funded project local media call the country’s largest bridge, is a year behind schedule. Adelino Cardoso, director of the National Roads Institute, told the local newspaper Téla Nón that drilling found 13 metres of mud below the river.
The admission, published on Monday 12 October, matters beyond the islands because the United States is the World Bank’s largest shareholder. It also explains why the island’s far north remains poorly connected, nearly 5 years after a December 2021 storm brought down the old bridge.
What the Roads Chief Said About the Lembá Bridge
The National Roads Institute is the state agency in charge of São Tomé’s roads and bridges, including the Lembá project. Its director, Adelino Cardoso, visited the Lembá bridge site and answered critics in a report by Téla Nón, a São Tomé online newspaper.
Prime Minister Américo Ramos laid the first stone in June 2025, but Cardoso rejected the idea that the launch had been rushed. He said the project that went to tender lacked geotechnical studies, which “were not done in detail at the time”.
He said São Tomé has no rigs to drill the ground, and its national civil engineering laboratory lacks the technology for this kind of test. The contractor therefore ran the study itself, digging more than 30 metres down and sending samples to a laboratory abroad.
The results showed that the piers of the old bridge had stood on a layer of mud 13 metres deep. “The project was changed, and the work will be done with concrete piles 30 metres deep to carry the weight of the bridge,” Cardoso said.
Who Pays for the Bridge and Who Builds It
The money comes from the International Development Association, the World Bank fund that gives grants and cheap loans to the poorest countries. It flows through the Transport Sector Development and Coastal Protection Project, a World Bank programme for the islands’ roads and coastline.
A World Bank notice says the Lembá bridge works were awarded on 16 December 2024 for US$8,230,273. The winner, Consortium China JK & SUCI, lists an address in São Tomé and had 18 months to build.
The same consortium won the smaller Brigoma bridge nearby for US$3,160,007. Téla Nón puts the World Bank financing for both bridges at about US$11.3 million, close to the two contracts combined.
Cardoso now speaks of a “financial gap”, because the first design of the Lembá bridge included no concrete piles at all. The 2024 tender described a girder bridge with three spans of 34 metres, 106.1 metres long and 10.6 metres wide.
The award notice lists one other evaluated bidder for the Lembá job, the Portuguese builder ACA Alberto Couto Alves. The 2024 tender specified semi-deep foundations for every support, a design now replaced by 30-metre piles.
A Farming Region Cut Off Since 2021
The old Lembá bridge collapsed in a storm in December 2021, and the Brigoma bridge also fell. Together, the losses cut the far north of Lembá district off from the rest of the island.
Lembá district lies in the north-west of São Tomé island, and its capital is the small town of Neves. Farms in the region once supplied bananas, cocoyam and breadfruit to the market in Neves and to the capital.
Farmer Linda da Silva told Téla Nón, in a report published on 7 October, that the temporary crossing floods whenever it rains. “The government is the one that should explain,” she said, as she carried a bucket of cocoa on her head.
At Ponta Furada, a cocoa estate on the far side of the river, only 4 people remain where more than 200 once farmed. The paper links the isolation to higher prices for bananas and other local food in the capital.
Gilson Sacramento, a motorcycle taxi rider who ferried farmers and palm-wine tappers across the river, criticised the roads institute, the builders and the site supervisors. Cardoso conceded that residents were right to complain, saying, “Communication was lacking here.”
The New Timeline for the Lembá Bridge
Cardoso said the World Bank, as the financier, has already approved the new design, and that work will start immediately. “Initially we planned 24 months, but that will not be met,” he said.
He said the bridge would be finished in 12 months, now that the new design is approved. “I give my guarantee, in 2027 we will have the bridge completed,” he told Téla Nón.
Warning signs were public in August 2025, when infrastructure minister Nelson Cardoso visited the bridge works in Lembá. Téla Nón reported then that the project rested on a conceptual study, with soil surveys still pending.
The contractor has started building homes to resettle families living near the site. As part of setting up the works yard, 4 classrooms were built for the Lembá community school.
What It Means for US Readers
The US State Department rates São Tomé and Príncipe at Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, in an advisory issued on 4 September 2026. It warns that secondary roads are often damaged and that driving gets harder in the rainy months from September to May.
Americans who need help are served by the US Embassy in Luanda, Angola, which also covers São Tomé and Príncipe. Visitors heading to the island’s north should plan for slow, weather-dependent travel until the new Lembá bridge opens.
For investors and builders, the case is a lesson in World Bank-funded tenders that go out before the ground is surveyed. Here the redesign has already cost a year and needed fresh approval from the lender.
The World Bank says growth in São Tomé and Príncipe has relied on externally financed public spending, a model it calls increasingly unsustainable. It expects growth of only 0.4% in 2026, while the islands also cope with a shortage of petrol.
What Is Not Known
Neither the roads institute nor the World Bank has published the new cost of the redesigned Lembá bridge. It is also unclear whether the government, the lender or the contractor will cover the extra concrete piles.
No firm restart date has been announced beyond the roads chief’s promise that work begins immediately. It is also unclear whether the smaller Brigoma bridge, tendered in the same package, needs a similar redesign.
The MLSTP, the main opposition party that led the islands to independence in 1975, won 24 of 55 seats in the 27 September parliamentary election. A new government has yet to be named, so it is unclear whether the next cabinet will keep the 2027 deadline.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Lembá bridge in São Tomé delayed?
The project went to tender without a detailed geotechnical study of the riverbed. When the contractor drilled, it found 13 metres of mud, so the bridge had to be redesigned on concrete piles 30 metres deep.
Who is paying for the Lembá bridge?
The World Bank’s International Development Association finances the works under a transport and coastal protection project. The Lembá works contract, awarded in December 2024, is worth US$8,230,273.
Who is building the Lembá bridge?
World Bank records show the contract went to Consortium China JK & SUCI, which lists an address in São Tomé. The same consortium won the nearby Brigoma bridge.
When will the Lembá bridge be finished?
Adelino Cardoso, director of the National Roads Institute, promised completion within 12 months, in 2027. The original plan was a 24-month build after the June 2025 launch.
Is it safe for Americans to travel to São Tomé and Príncipe?
The US State Department rates the country at Level 2, exercise increased caution. It warns that secondary roads are often damaged and that rain makes driving harder from September to May.
Sources: Téla Nón, A obra da ponte de Lembá foi lançada sem estudos geotécnicos, 12 October 2026; Téla Nón, A ponte que desligou o distrito de Lembá em 2021 ainda sem obras, 7 October 2026; Téla Nón, Obras nas pontes de Lembá e Brigoma aguardam pela prospecção geotécnica, 13 August 2025; Téla Nón, Tribunal Constitucional confirma a vitória mínima do MLSTP nas eleições legislativas, 6 October 2026; Téla Nón, MLSTP avança com proposta de Governo, 8 October 2026; World Bank, contract award notice, Lot 1 Lembá bridge (P161842), 17 December 2024; World Bank, contract award notice, Lot 2 Brigoma bridge (P161842), 17 December 2024; World Bank, invitation for bids, Lembá and Brigoma bridges, 23 April 2024; World Bank, São Tomé and Príncipe overview, 28 September 2026; US State Department, São Tomé and Príncipe travel information, 4 September 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief