Daraja la Umoja

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Unit bridge

The unit bridge or Kiswahili Unity Bridge ( English Unity Bridge , local designation also Portuguese Ponte da Unidade ) spans the Rovuma and connects the villages Mtambaswala in Tanzania and Negomano in Mozambique . It was officially opened on May 12, 2010. This created a continuous road connection along the entire East African coast of the Indian Ocean for the first time .

history

As early as 1975, shortly after Mozambique gained independence, the presidents of Tanzania, Nyerere , and Mozambique, Samora Machel , proposed building a bridge. Feasibility studies were carried out and some preparatory work also took place from 1980 to 1981, but the work was stopped due to lack of money. In 2002 a state treaty was signed between the two countries, and in 2005 the Norwegian planning agency Norconsult was commissioned with the planning and construction management. On October 10, 2005, the foundation stone was laid simultaneously on both sides of the border river . The total cost was estimated at 25 million US dollars , the construction work was in the hands of the Chinese construction company China Geo-Engineering Corp. The completion date was originally planned for mid-2008, but this could not be met due to problems with suppliers. The cost has risen to $ 33 million over the course of construction.

The bridge is 720 meters long, 13.5 meters wide and its apex has a height of 10 meters above the water level at medium water level. It replaces the unreliable ferry traffic over the Rovuma due to frequent technical problems, which was only possible for pedestrians after the ferry went down in July 2008.

Several points of criticism were raised against the construction of the bridge at the realized location. On the one hand, the connection to the road network in both Tanzania and Mozambique is inadequate, the slopes of Masasi (100 km) and Mueda (180 km) are in poor condition, so that hardly any heavy traffic will be possible. Funds for the expansion of the feeder roads are not available in either country. On the other hand, the piste from Mueda to Negomane leads in large parts through the largely untouched Niassa wildlife sanctuary, so that an increase in poaching and further damage to the animal world is feared here. Despite considerable efforts by both states to obtain financial aid for the construction, this was rejected by both the World Bank and the European Union - presumably for the reasons mentioned.

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Coordinates: 11 ° 24 ′ 55 ″  S , 38 ° 29 ′ 40 ″  E