New ferries under construction to ease Lake Victoria transport problems in Tanzania

Four new ferries, whose construction has reached an average of 60 percent complete, are expected to ease the transport problems between some villages located onshore Lake Victoria in Tanzania once they are completed, an official said Monday.

Lazaro Kilahala, the chief executive officer of the Tanzania Electrical, Mechanical and Electronics Services Agency that oversees the construction of the ferries, said the ferries will provide services in many villages in the Mwanza Region.

He added that the construction of the new ferries by the government was being done in tandem with the rehabilitation of old ones.

Lake Victoria, covering an area of 68,800 square kilometers, is shared by Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.