Dar es Salaam. Users of the Tanzanite Bridge in Dar es Salaam could find themselves digging into their pockets in order to use the iconic pathway if the government takes heed of the advice by the Parliamentary Committee on infrastructure.
The committee has advised the government to introduce toll charges for motorists wishing to use the bridge in the commercial capital.
One of the committee representatives said that the law allows toll roads and bridges if motorists and pedestrians have other alternative roads.
Should the proposal be considered, Tanzanite will become the second toll bridge in Dar es Salaam after the Nyerere Bridge in Kigamboni.
The bridge which rebranded early this year started operations in February 2022 and was officially commissioned in March 2022.
The bridge was built by South Korea's GS engineering along the Coco Beach coastline in Oysterbay stretching all the way to Aga Khan Hospital covering 1.03 kilometers.
The project broke grounds in 2018. The new bridge is jointly funded by the Tanzania government and the government of South Korea at 82.9 per cent of the entire cost. It connects roads linking Aga Khan Hospital and Coco Beach and it measures approximately 6.23 kilometers at a cost of Sh256 billion.
With a 180-tonnage Capacity, the bridge is expected to ferry 55,000 vehicles or thereabouts per day, and this is expected to significantly reduce congestion along the overwhelmed independence-time Selander Bridge.
The old Selander Bridge was constructed back in 1929 and named after John Einar Selander, Tanganyika’s first Director of Public Works.
