MWANZA, Tanzania, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Peter Ngonyani, a 35-year-old resident of Kigongo, near the Kigongo-Busisi ferry on Lake Victoria in Tanzania's northwestern Mwanza region, is all smiles.

As a father of three, he has lived in the area for over 20 years and is excited to see the completion of the Kigongo-Busisi Bridge across Lake Victoria by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway.

"This bridge is a savior to people on both sides of the lake. It is a savior to our lives and businesses," said Ngonyani, referring to the 3.2-km-long, 28-meter-wide bridge named the Magufuli Bridge after former President John Pombe Magufuli, who initiated its construction.

Ngonyani said that before the bridge's construction, residents relied on an unreliable ferry to cross Lake Victoria, the largest freshwater lake in Africa. "The ferry took more than two hours to commute on both sides of the lake. But now it takes less than five minutes to drive through the bridge," he said.

He recounted the tragic situations where pregnant women and other sick individuals, particularly from Busisi, died while waiting for the ferry to take them to Bugando Referral Hospital in Mwanza city. When the ferry was out of service for repairs, sometimes for over a week, local businesses suffered significant losses as farm crops could not reach markets on time.

"Depending on the ferry to travel was a nightmare I will never forget," Ngonyani noted.

The bridge, which connects Misungwi and Sengerema districts in the Mwanza region, also provides a crucial link between the region and neighboring countries Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. "The bridge will indeed be a catalyst for reducing poverty and spurring economic growth in a larger area of the country," Ngonyani said.

"The project has created jobs for over 1,200 local engineers and skilled workers ... Before I started working here, I knew nothing about building bridges, but I am lucky to have met Chinese experts who, alongside local experts, taught me how this job is done," said Samir Ramadhani, a surveyor employed by CCECC in 2020. Through his job, Ramadhani has been able to provide necessities for his family.

Qin Rong, vice project manager of the bridge construction, said that the project is currently 90 percent complete.

In September 2023, a team of Tanzanian parliamentarians inspected the construction site of the Magufuli Bridge and praised such projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for helping advance the country's economy.

Geoffrey Mwambe, leader of the Tanzania-China Parliamentarian Friendship Group, said these projects support Tanzania's social and economic development by creating employment for locals and transferring technology to local engineers, noting that the BRI projects align well with Tanzania's development visions.

Upon completion, the Magufuli Bridge would be the only extra-dosed cable-stayed bridge in the Lake Victoria region and the longest of its kind in Africa, said Zhang Junle, managing director of CCECC in Tanzania. Enditem

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