Tanzania signs deal on new bridge to cut time on Central Corridor. The country signed a deal with two Chinese groups, that is China Civil Engineering Construction and China Railway 15th Bureau in order to construct a 3.2km bridge over parts of Lake Victoria.
The bridge will connect Kigongo and Busisi areas in Mwanza region, and help to connect Tanzania to Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi via road.
At present, vehicles take about three hours to cross to either side of the lake via a ferry — two hours in a queue to get onto the ferry and another hour to get to the other side.
Chief executive of the Tanzania Roads Agency, Patrick Mfugale, said “the bridge will reduce transport time and make trade easier among countries in the region.”
The government, through the Marine Service Company Ltd and Uganda Railway Corporation, has also set up a one-stop centre for the smooth haulage of cargo and passengers.
Efforts by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to strengthen trade and transport on Lake Victoria received a boost in November last year when Presidents John Magufuli and Yoweri Museveni signed a landmark deal.
An official with information on the project said, plans for a new ship to function between Mwanza and ports in Kenya and Uganda in the next one year are ongoing as the ship is about 35 per cent complete.
