Tanzanian authorities and China Railway Construction Engineering Group (CRJE) Monday signed a contract, worth US$ 138 million, for the construction of a bridge to link the harbour and downtown Dar es Salaam to the upcoming city extension on Kigamboni peninsula.
The four-kilometre-long structure across the Dar es Salaam Channel will be wholly financed from local resources by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and the government, Works Minister John Magufuli said.
The NSSF has committed itself to cover 60 percent of the project cost while the government will meet the remaining 40 percent.
Construction of the bridge is scheduled to start in February 2012 and will take 36 months.
At a maximum height of 55 metres and a span of 200 metres between its two main supports, the bridge will allow ocean vessels to sail underneath without interruption and it will have six lanes for vehicles, the minister explained.
The project will create 3,000 jobs of which 1,000 will be permanent
