Tungsram now plays part in the elevating story of Mosul, the city in Iraq occupied by IS, and destroyed by the fights lasting 3 years, and now being rebuilt with a worldwide cooperation. One of the 8 bridges, once destroyed and now connecting the two parts of the city and restarting the local economy is lit with Tungsram’s high-quality Inlumino LED outdoor lighting system providing enhanced visual performance and symbolizing a new era for a city reborn.
A local rehabilitation project has been initiated by UN-Habitat and UNESCO, partly financed by World Bank to bring life, the citizens and economy back into the city, including reinstating regional connectivity.
As part of the rehabilitation of damaged bridges over the River Tigris in Mosul, Shuhada Bridge being 40% damaged and out of operation was also included in the Initial Planning Framework for the reconstruction of Mosul. Tungsram was thrilled to win a part of this rehabilitation project by installing its Inlumino LED luminaries over the bridge that now paints the image of a 21st century city and symbolizing hope and rebirth after a dark period of modern history.
In July 2017 the whole world kept their breath when watching the broadcasts about the battle over Mosul, Iraq. It was a huge military operation to recapture Iraq's second largest city from the Islamic State (IS). Mosul fell to IS in June 2014, with the terror organization proclaiming the creation of a "caliphate", and destroyed the city’s great mosque. In the following years most of the population of the city fled, while the terrorist and the fights basically destroyed the once blooming city into ruins. According to the BBC reports at that time, ‘thousands of Iraqi soldiers, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, assisted by US-led coalition warplanes and military advisers, took part in the recapturing offensive’, which ended at July 10, 2017.
According to a summary by UN-Habitat and UNESCO “several months of armed conflict in the struggle to retake the city has left behind a devastated urban landscape, characterised by destroyed monuments, demolished houses, damaged buildings, destroyed infrastructure, extensive piles of rubble. Along the Tigris River, the historic urban fabric has been severely affected, with an estimated 5,000 buildings in the Old City destroyed or severely damaged.” A multi-disciplinary team from UN-Habitat and UNESCO has developed an Initial Planning Framework for the Reconstruction of Mosul in order to support Mosul’s local government with the reconstruction and recovery of the city.
The two parts of the city were connected by 8 bridges, most of them destroyed, so an important part of the Initial Planning Framework was the rebuild them in order to revitalize economy and trade in the city by reinstating regional infrastructural connectivity, and attract the citizens (including 15,000 families in refugee camps) back. As part of the rehabilitation of damaged bridges over the River Tigris in Mosul, Shuhada Bridge being 40% damaged and out of operation was also included in the Initial Planning Framework.
After the bridge has been rebuilt, the lighting system also had to be redesigned to provide an energy efficient solution using LED fixtures instead of the existing HID Sodium 400W fixtures. Tungsram, through its partner, plays part in the lighting solution over the bridge.
Tungsram’s new state of the art Inlumino LED luminaire with its innovative and unique solutions proved to be the top choice in this challenging environment due to their high lumen output, high efficiency, excellent performance and simple and fast installation.
120 pieces of 30klm Tungsram Inlumino LED luminaires were installed on the 2 km long bridge. Having an efficiency of 140 lm/W, providing optimized solution and with its efficient photometric distribution providing uniform illumination on the bridge thus complying to the technical requirement. The luminaires further meet the lighting expectations for the newly renovated bridge with their sleek design and by providing an aesthetic lighting solution.
In addition, only two hand-tools are required for installing the fixture, and future maintenance can be performed without any tools, due to the hinged opening and lift-off top housing with automatic electrical disconnect and removable gear tray.
The implementation of the Mosul Bridge lighting project was completed in the spring of 2021, resulting in a high-quality LED lighting system with high efficiency, low-maintenance and long service life, contributing to substantial cost-saving due to the low energy consumption, while also supporting a safe and comfortable environment. Simply put: if you look at the night images of the renewed Shuhada bridge, you see a part of the infrastructure of a real modern city, leaving the memories of being in rubbles and inoperational far behind.
The new LED lighting system installed for Mosul in Iraq offers a 10-year warranty, providing a high degree of reliability due to the high-quality components and professional engineering. By installing the right light at the right place, visual performance has also been enhanced, minimizing the risk of accidents by improving safety, comfort and alertness.
Mosul is now a symbol of hope of peace and future prosperity: the sleek Shuhada bridge with its beautiful, bright lights contributes to this hope.
