Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has opened the longest suspension bridge in Africa, its central span of 680 metres connecting Maputo and the town of KaTembe, which lies on the other side of Maputo Bay, Deutsche Welle reports.
The German news agency says Chinese state-owned enterprise China Road and Bridge Corp. built the bridge, including two ramps more than two kilometres long, at a cost of about US$720 million.
The report says an official written statement quotes Mr Nyusi as saying the bridge will increase tourism and fulfill a dream of both former president Samora Machel and the African Union.
“With the completion of this bridge,” Mr Nyusi said, “a safe connection from southern Africa to the north, overland and across our country, is guaranteed.”
In a separate report, the Mozambican newspaper O País quotes Mr Nyusi as thanking the Chinese government for its help in building the bridge.
