Aerial photo taken on April 8, 2019 shows the Maputo Bay Bridge in Maputo, Mozambique. The longest twin-tower suspension bridge in Africa, which hovers across the Maputo Bay with a main span of 680 meters, was officially open to traffic in November of 2018. The bridge is part of the Maputo Bridge and Link Roads project built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, with Chinese standards and financing support. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)
MAPUTO, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A local district in the Mozambican province of Maputo has witnessed a tourism boom and the related income doubling, due to the easier access to its major resorts brought by the cross-sea suspension bridge and its link roads built and financed by China, district authorities said on Tuesday.
Joao Tembe, head of a local administration of the district of Matutuine, told Radio of Mozambique that the increased number of tourists in the first six months of 2019 has allowed the government to collect over 1 million U.S. dollars revenue, compared to the half million in the same period of last year.
The administrator said the increase in the tourists flow is a direct benefit brought by the Maputo-Katembe bridge and the 187 kilometers of road inaugurated in November.
Aerial photo taken on April 9, 2019 shows a night view of the Maputo Bay Bridge in Maputo, Mozambique.(Xinhua/Zhang Yu)
"In the first half of this year we have 162,000 tourists, with the majority of them being South Africans, but there is also an increase in the number of domestic tourists," said Tembe.
He said that this number is equivalent to an increase of 37.4 percent, and authorities have met more than half of the goal for tax collection.
Local people perform traditional songs and dances during the inauguration ceremony of the Maputo Bay Bridge in Katembe, Mozambique, on Nov. 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Nie Zuguo)
"We have achieved more than half of our target, (at this pace) we might even go beyond it," Tembe told the national radio.
Bordering the south with South Africa and the west with Eswatini (the former Swaziland), Matutuine is the southernmost district of Maputo Province, which is known for its major tourist attractions including Bela Vista, Elephant Reserve and Ponta d'Ouro.
Aerial photo taken on April 9, 2019 shows a night view of the Maputo Bay Bridge in Maputo, Mozambique. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu)
