Maputo, Mozambique, 15 May – Work to build the second bridge over the Zambezi River, in the city of Tete, is due to begin in August, said the director general of provincial Jorge Valério of roads institute, Estradas do Zambeze, told Mozambican newspaper Notícias.

He said that surveying work had been concluded on the area where the bridge would be built and work to build a large construction site.

“After long and arduous work we have concluded the surveying process that allows us to know what the ground is like where the bridge and access roads on both banks will be built, covering around 1,600 metres. The work underway has a schedule of 42 months and is expected to cost 105 million euros,” said Valério.

The bridge will be located some 5,000 metres downstream of the Samora Machel bridge, and is expected to reduce traffic on that bridge.

Within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the second bridge is a key opportunity to consolidate the links of land-locked countries, such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, to the port of Beira, in Sofala province, Mozambique.

The work is expected to cost some 150 million euros and includes repairs on around 260 kilometres of road linking the city of Tete to the borders with Zimbabwe, on the way to the capital Harare, and with Malawi, to its capital, Blantyre.

The consortium building the bridge is made up of Portuguese companies Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção, Soares da Costa Construções and Opway. (macauhub)