Mohamed Issa Mohamed
31 March 2008
Nairobi — The Unity Bridge, a 720-metre structure that will connect Tanzania and Mozambique across the Ruvuma river is expected to be completed early next year.
The China Geo Engineering Corporation, which is building the $40 million bridge, has already installed 19 piers to support the structure linking Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique to the Mtwara Region of Tanzania.
Mussa Mataka, regional manager of Tanroads in Mtwara region, said construction of the decking of the bridge will be completed before the long rains next month.
"The contractors have been given up to December this year to complete the project," he added.
This is the Chinese firm's second major project in Africa, the first being in Algeria where it designed and built a provincial water supply network at a cost of $12 million.
The agreement to build the Umoja Bridge was signed by former presidents Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania and Joachim Chissano of Mozambique. The project had been mooted 30 years ago by the late Julius Nyerere and Samora Machel.
The bridge is part of the Mtwara Development Corridor (MDC) - a multimillion dollar project to build highways and railways and expand ports to facilitate access to the sea for southern Tanzania, northern Malawi, eastern Zambia and northern Mozambique, regions whose abundant natural resources are yet to be fully exploited and whose populations are categorised as among the poorest in the world.
Under the project, the Mtwara port will be the principal sea gateway for exports. Resources such as coal, natural gas and oil will be used to develop the MDC-Zone in terms of electrification, industrialisation, job creation and generation and distribution of wealth.
The bridge, which will initially have a five-kilometre stretch of tarmacked road on either side, will be 10.3 metres wide.
Other related projects for the MDC Zone include the Mchuchuma Coal-to-Electricity Project, the Mtwara port expansion and modernisation, the Mtwara-Mbamba Bay road, the Mbamba Bay port development, a heavy-capacity ferry link between Nkhata Bay and Mbamba Bay and the Selous-Niassa Transfrontier Conservation Area.
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