Photo/Illutration Cuban trainees participate in a practical exercise on methods for inspecting a steel bridge in Nagasaki, the capital of Nagasaki Prefecture, on Sept. 1. (Provided by Nagasaki University)

NAGASAKI--As Cuba struggles to maintain its crumbling Cold War-era infrastructure, it is turning to Nagasaki for lessons on preserving its bridges.

Cuba sent a delegation this fall to learn about the prefecture’s unique approach to preserving its 1,775 bridges, which suffer deterioration from the salt in the sea air and must survive through strong monsoons and typhoons.

Of the bridges, 663, or 37 percent, are at least 50 years old, according to prefectural government officials.

The prefecture’s coastlines extend for 4,195 kilometers, making it second only to Hokkaido. It also contains 971 islands, more than any other prefecture of Japan.

Its harsh natural environment has prompted hundreds of people living in the prefecture to become experts at prolonging the lifespans of bridges through an approach called preventive maintenance, where experts create a complex schedule for routine checkups and then triage repair work--just like the health care system does for patients.

The idea is that this extends the life span of its existing bridges instead of waiting to repair them when something breaks, thereby preventing potentially dangerous accidents.

The checkups are done by “michimori” (road keepers)--998 citizens (including volunteers) who take training classes and are officially certified by Nagasaki University for the technical work.

Thanks to their success, Nagasaki University now plays an active part in the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s personnel training program on road and bridge maintenance intended for developing nations.

“The program is helping to spread our expertise in preventive maintenance overseas, where it will prove useful,” said Takafumi Nishikawa, an associate professor of structural engineering with the Nagasaki University Graduate School of Engineering and a leading member of the project. “It is also allowing us to learn from circumstances abroad.”

Much of Cuba’s infrastructure was developed with assistance from the former Soviet Union but it has long been neglected and fixing it is proving to be a major challenge for the island nation, which has limited public works funds.

The country still falls under U.S. economic sanctions and is running low on foreign currency and development funds. But it hopes to soon import Nagasaki’s system to help bridge that gap.

Antonio Amaury Medina Morante, vice minister of construction, led a delegation of the Cuban trainees made up of civil engineers and government officials to Nagasaki for three weeks in September for training in the hopes this approach can work for their nation as well.

A Cuban trainee presented a draft plan to about 30 individuals in a classroom at Nagasaki University’s School of Engineering on Sept. 20 where they were learning about Nagasaki’s philosophy of bridge maintenance.

“We will be inspecting 20 bridges for starters,” the trainee said.

It took no time before a barrage of questions and comments came flying in.

“What are the selection criteria?” one commenter asked. “Importance of the bridge, or the deterioration level? The plan should be a balanced one.”

“Inspections should be done systematically by departments in charge,” said another.

Medina Morante nodded as he watched the discussions.

He had served as director-general for strategic development with the Cuban Construction Ministry when he had attended a training program commissioned by the JICA on bridge maintenance in 2019, alongside officials from other nations.

That was where he learned about the prefecture’s approach to maintaining its infrastructure, and he quickly took an interest.

Once he was back in Cuba, Medina Morante called for the government to start systematic work to prevent bridge deterioration and for it to develop the necessary personnel to create an inspection program such as Nagasaki’s.

He also requested JICA organize a special training program for Cuba, and one has since begun with a time frame that runs through fiscal 2024.

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