DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian members of Parliament say that projects being undertaken under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework are helping the East African nation to open up its economy.

The MPs made the commendation Saturday during a visit to two major infrastructural projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Mwanza and Shinyanga regions as part of the BRI framework.

Members of the Tanzania-China Parliamentarian Friendship Group visited the construction site of the Magufuli Bridge project over Lake Victoria connecting Mwanza and Geita regions implemented by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) together with China Railway 15th Bureau, and lot 5 of the standard gauge railway (SGR) from Isaka to Mwanza, implemented by the CCECC and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC), the parent company of China Railway 15th Bureau.

Geoffrey Mwambe, leader of the Tanzania-China Parliamentarian Friendship Group, said projects under the BRI framework were helping to support the country's social and economic development. "These projects are also creating employment for local people as well as transferring technology to our local engineers," said the lawmaker.

Mwambe said projects under the BRI framework are well aligned with Tanzania's development visions.

Zhang Junle, the managing director of the CCECC in Tanzania, said the construction of the Magufuli Bridge, named after former President John Pombe Magufuli, has reached 78 percent complete, including 2.48 km of the approach bridge on both sides and 520 meters of the main bridge at the center, adding that more than 1,200 local engineers and skilled workers have been employed for this project.

Zhang said upon its completion, the bridge will be the only extradosed, cable-stayed bridge in the Lake Victoria region, and the longest of its kind in Africa. He said the bridge will shorten the commuting time between Kigongo and Busisi on both sides of Lake Victoria from two hours to five minutes, bringing a permanent solution to the traffic problems haunting the local residents for decades.

"CCECC will ensure deeper participation in the BRI development, and provide better service to the economic and social development of Tanzania in all aspects," he said.

Wang Chao, the CCECC's deputy project manager for the lot 5 Isaka-Mwanza SGR project, said the construction of the Isaka-Mwanza SGR project has led to employing 6,793 local people, including 4,643 local engineers, technicians and skilled labor.

Chen Mingjian, the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, said the Magufuli Bridge and the SGR project have been listed as key projects of the BRI.

Chen said the SGR project covers 1,950 km, spanning 11 provinces and cities, and connects Tanzania's four economic circles of "two lakes, one port and the capital."

"After completion, it will serve as an important sea channel for neighboring countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Rwanda to access the Indian Ocean, and become a transportation artery for the Central East African Corridor," Chen said. "The main idea of the BRI is to improve connectivity, and the main purpose is to achieve win-win cooperation." - Xinhua

Doha: Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) Director-General HE Khalifa bin Jassem Al Kuwari met on Sunday with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management of the Republic of South Sudan HE Albino Akol Atak.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways of joint cooperation. - The Peninsula

A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, killing 632 people and damaging buildings from the historic city of Marrakech to villages in the Atlas Mountains.

Men, women and children stayed out in the streets, fearing aftershocks.

Morocco's Interior Ministry said early Saturday that at least 632 people had died in the provinces near the quake. Additionally, more than 329 people injured had been sent to hospitals for treatment. The ministry wrote that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns.

The head of the town of Talat N'Yaaqoub, Abderrahim Ait Daoud, told Moroccan news site 2M that several homes in towns in the Al Haouz region had partly or totally collapsed, and electricity and roads were cut off in some places.

He said authorities are working to clear roads in the province to allow passage for ambulances and aid to populations affected, but said large distances between mountain villages mean it will take time to learn the extent of the damage. 

Moroccans posted videos showing buildings reduced to rubble and dust, and parts of the famous red walls that surround the old city in Marrakech, a UNESCO World Heritage site, damaged. Tourists and others posted videos of people screaming and evacuating restaurants in the city as throbbing club music played.

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  Earthquake Shakes Morocco; More Than 820 Dead

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 when it hit at 11:11 p.m. (2211 GMT), with shaking that lasted several seconds. The U.S. agency reported a magnitude-4.9 aftershock hit 19 minutes later.

The USGS said the epicenter was 18 kilometers below the Earth's surface, while Morocco's seismic agency put it at 8 kilometers down. In either case, such shallow quakes are more dangerous. 

The epicenter of Friday's tremor was high in the Atlas Mountains, roughly 70 kilometers south of Marrakech. It was also near Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa and Oukaimeden, a popular Moroccan ski resort.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in North Africa. Lahcen Mhanni, Head of the Seismic Monitoring and Warning Department at the National Institute of Geophysics, told 2M TV that the earthquake was "exceptional." 

"Mountainous regions in general do not produce earthquakes of this size," he said. "It is the strongest earthquake recorded in the region."

In 1960, a magnitude 5.8 tremor struck near the Moroccan city of Agadir and caused thousands of deaths.

The Agadir quake prompted changes in construction rules in Morocco, but many buildings, especially rural homes, are not built to withstand such tremors. 

Friday's quake was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere and Algeria's Civil Defense agency, which oversees emergency response. By VOA