In a landmark infrastructure development for the region, Tanzania’s Magufuli Bridge is now fully operational in 2026, transforming how people and goods move across Lake Victoria and reshaping trade routes across East Africa. Officially opened to traffic in June 2025, the bridge stretches about 2 miles across the southern end of Lake Victoria linking the districts of Misungwi and Sengerema in north-western Tanzania.
Before the bridge was built, there was no road link between Kigongo and Busisi. The bridge now slashes travel times from two to three hours by ferry to just under five minutes by road.
The project was fully financed by the Tanzanian government and was built by a joint venture between two Chinese companies, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Railway 15th Bureau.
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation said in a press release that the bridge “drastically lowers cross-lake transport costs by 10% to 15%.”
The project cost over TZS 700 billion which is roughly £199million. The bridge officially opened to traffic on June 19, 2025. The inauguration was led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The bridge is expected to benefit the over one million people living around Lake Victoria.
Construction started in 2019 and it was first named the Kigongo-Busisi Bridge. It was later renamed in honour of late President John Pombe Magufuli who launched the project before his death.
The structure is Africa’s longest extra-dosed cable-stayed bridge and reportedly the second longest bridge with a stay cable system after Egypt’s Suez Canal Bridge.
One TripAdvisor user said about the bridge: “The bridge is fully functunal and it’s a breeze to cross that bay. It is a very impressive engineering achievement. No tolls either.”
