The government of Tanzania has signed a $265m contract with two Chinese contractors for the construction of a 3.2km-long bridge on Lake Victoria.
China Civil Engineering Construction Group (CCECG) and the China Railway 15th Bureau will build a link over the Gulf of Mwanza, a 30km-long inlet in the southern shore of the lake between the settlements of Kigongo and Busisi.
The aim is to replace the Mwanza ferry and improve communications between the commercial hub of Mwanza City in northern Tanzania and the lake states of Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. At present, the ferry crossing takes three hours, including a two-hour queue to board.
Construction will be fully funded by the Tanzanian state and is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs. As well as the bridge, the project involves the construction of a 34km road to Mwanza.
Image: The southern shore of Lake Victoria (Hansueli Krapf/CC BY-SA 3.0)
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I congratulate the Tanzanian government for this invaluable project. How i wish Kenya can brow from their neighbours and do the same for Likoni ferry channel which is not very long. There has been talks of building a bridge but no action. For the sake of enhancing development a bridge is the most ideal for Likoni and mombasa island linkage.