Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan (3rd L) and Chinese ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian (1st R) inaugurated the Chinese-built Magufuli Bridge, June 19, 2025. /CGTN

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday inaugurated the Magufuli Bridge, Africa's longest extra-dosed cable-stayed bridge that spans Lake Victoria. 

Hassan hailed the bridge, named after Tanzania's former President John Magufuli, as a milestone infrastructure project in the country, noting it reduces the travel time across Lake Victoria from two hours to five minutes. She also added that the bridge will also help boost trade with neighboring countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

"The Magufuli Bridge is a landmark project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and a model of China-Tanzania cooperation, highlighting its broader significance for China-Africa development." said Chen Mingjian, Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, at the inauguration ceremony.

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

Jointly undertaken by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway 15th Bureau Group, the bridge spans 4.66 kilometers and features a four-lane dual carriageway designed for speeds up to 120 kilometers per hour. Its centerpiece is a 520-meter, three-tower cable-stayed span constructed from 123 segments using cantilever casting techniques. 

The bridge links the towns of Kigongo and Busisi in the Mwanza Region, reducing travel time from over two hours via detour or 40 minutes by the slow ferry transport to approximately five minutes. 

"This drastically lowers cross-lake transport costs by 10% to 15%." CCECC said in a press release. As a strategic transport hub, the bridge is expected to boost surrounding industries, including agriculture, tourism and commerce, benefiting over 1 million residents around Lake Victoria, the press release noted.

Emphasizing local workforce development and industrial capacity building, the press release said that the project has maintained a local employment rate of nearly 95 percent, generated around 3,000 jobs and trained over 1,500 skilled technical workers, addressing local talent shortages in infrastructure sectors.

Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, former President Jakaya Kikwete, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian, government ministers, diplomats and community representatives attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. By Shen Shiwei, CGTN