PRAGUE, Dec. 14 (PNA/Xinhua) — The Czech Republic has sent a dismantled bridge on Friday night to the Central African Republic as humanitarian aid, said Czech General Staff spokeswoman Jana Ruzickova on Saturday.
The bridge, with a weight of 45 tons and a length of 24 meters, was dismantled into 141 pallets and was transported to Africa aboard an AN-124 Ruslan plane of the Swedish military from the airport in Pardubice, Czech Republic.
The plane should arrive in the Central African Republic on Sunday morning after a stopover in Madrid.
Ruzickova said the bridge had over 1,700 parts, and it will be built on the spot by Italian sappers under the supervision of their Czech colleagues.
As the original bridge across a channel in the capital of Bangui was destroyed during fighting in the past, the Czech donation will again enable the movement of local people between different urban districts of the city.
She said the existence of this bridge is very important for the transport of humanitarian aid to the region, and this would improve the living conditions of local inhabitants.
The granting of a temporary bridge by the Czech Republic in the form of humanitarian aid was requested in September by the commander of the EU mission in the Central African Republic.
The Czech government approved the donation in early December.(PNA/Xinhua)