Japan finances Rusumo bridge on Tanzania-Rwanda border
Japan has granted Tanzania almost €17 million for road projects. The largest scheme is the construction of the Rusumo International Bridge on the Tanzania-Rwanda border, and the provision of a One Stop Border Post, both of which are expected to enhance cross-border trade between Tanzania and neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Spanning the Kagera river, the existing Rusumo Bridge, the only one in the area, was constructed about 40 years ago to support a gross vehicle weight of 32 tonnes. The current volume of traffic crossing the bridge has a gross weight of up to 60 tonnes and its single lane does not allow vehicles travelling in both directions to pass.
The bridge has recently begun to display noticeable signs of corrosion. During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the bridge gained international attention as hordes of refugees crossed it fleeing into Tanzania.
In Dar es Salaam, a central part of the road project includes the widening of Kilwa-Kamata intersection road, in the southern part of the city, designed to alleviate traffic jams in the centre.
The financial package comes as part of an agreement reached between Tanzania and Japan on 24 March. Other Japanese-funded projects in Tanzania include the recently completed Kilwa road and the ongoing Bagamoyo road, north of Dar es Salaam.
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