The New Source of the Nile Bridge has been described as a thing of beauty – an architectural masterpiece rivalling any in the world. Constructed at a cost of about sh41.1b, the Bridge is expected to have a lifespan of 120 years.
The 525-m-long cable-stayed bridge is the second of its kind in East Africa after Tanzania’s 680-m-long Kigamboni Bridge which was commissioned a fortnight ago.
And in Africa, the Source of Nile Bridge is the fifth longest cable-stayed bridge behind Egypt’s Suez Canal Bridge (3,900m), Lekki Ikoyi Bridge in Nigeria (1,360m), Mohammed VI Bridge in Morocco (950m) and Tanzania’s Kigamboni.
Ahead of it’s commissioning by President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday, Eng. Samuel Muhoozi, the Director of Roads and Bridges at Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), contends that the new bridge could become a major tourist attraction because of its novelty.
“One of the aims of constructing this bridge was enhancing tourism with addition of this iconic signature bridge in this picturesque location,” Muhoozi told the media earlier today. The new bridge has fan-shaped single-plane stay cables and inverted Y Pylon just like other iconic cable-stayed bridges elsewhere in the world.
Over the years, countries that have pulled off unique engineering masterpieces have been able to turn them into tourism attractions. One such country is Vietnam whose ‘Golden Arms Bridge’ has continued to draw tourists from all corners of the globe. And turning the Source of the Nile Bridge into a ‘must visit site’, Muhoozi contends, will not be asking too much from those eager to market Uganda as a preferred port of call for tourists.
