From Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar: The 50km Bridge That Will Redefine East African Infrastructure.

You probably missed this: The construction of the largest bridge in Africa, covering over 50 kms (31 Miles), an ambitious infrastructure project set to significantly transform Tanzania's connectivity and economy, standing as a testimony of Tanzania's growing economy.

This massive project, estimated to cost about 2.7 Billion US Dollars has captured the attention of engineers, economists and investors.

For many years, Zanzibar's rich culture, cosy beaches and historical significance have been a top destination for vacations for tourists and locals.

Tourism has always been the backbone of Zanzibar's economy. In 1985, Zanzibar welcomed only about 19,000 tourists but in 2023 this number grew tenfold to about 638,500 tourists this being a 16.4% increase ▲ from 2022.

This bridge will not only strengthen tourism but also transform the trade industry between Tanzania and Zanzibar.

Despite this, access to Zanzibar has remained limited. Transportation of people and goods has been done through small aircrafts and ferries which have been subjected to weather challenges, sometimes leading to delay.

This idea is not new, it once rose in 2020 but actual progress began in May 2023 when Jeffrey Kakenya, Tanzania's minister of works and transport announced that they were in advanced talk stages with China's overseas engineering group called EK Engineering group, a well established firm that showed interest in collaborating in the project.

For a project of this magnitude, Tanzania expects that some financial institutions such as Africa Development Bank to provide some support in funding.

Currently the longest bridge in Tanzania is the "Mkapa Bridge" in rufiji which is almost 1km long. The Zanzibar bridged is about 50 times longer. This huge bridge will lead to statistical and logistical problems such as battling the weather challenges that current transports face.

As of now, Africa's longest bridge is the "6th October bridge" in Cairo spanning over 20kms (12.7 miles) which took 30 years to build and ended in 1996 which was marvellous for its time. The Tanzanian bridge promises to not only surpass it in length but be a forefront for Africa's engineering development.

In recent years, Tanzania has taken several major construction projects such as the kigamboni bridge in Dar es Salaam completed in 2016, a 680m bridge was the first of its kind in East Africa. At the same time Tanzania has a railway project aligned between Tanzania and Kenya which is expected to improve transport, cost and trade activities.

But still many questions remain unanswered for the Zanzibar bridge such as when exactly will the project begin. As of May 2023, there had been no official communication form Zanzibar as of when the construction will begin. This uncertainty has led to speculation of whether the original completion target of 2028 will be met.

But the Chinese overseas EK Engineering Group company and the Africa Development Bank suggest that the project is moving forward at a cautious pace.

This will not only bridge the gap in physical distance but also bridge the gap between present and future of a rapidly evolving continent.

Do you see this bridge as a symbol of progress or a potential challenge for Tanzania and Zanzibar ???