The Tourists sampling Serengeti National Park’s wildlife spectacle can access major hotel facilities inside the area, following the completion of Grumeti Bridge.
Before such an intervention visitors to the area were subjected to nightmarish experiences while crossing river Grumeti at Kirawira area.
Speaking here at the weekend, the park’s Senior Assistant Conservation Commissioner, Izumbe Msindai disclosed that Serengeti National Park had spent 444mn/- worth of Covid 19 funds in fixing the once black spot.
According to Mr Msindai, the park’s northern part is now passable and accessible, thanks to the funds which sought to keep the $2bn/- a year-industry afloat, during the Pandemic.
“Connectivity between Kirawira A and Kirawira B where most of the luxurious hotels are found was a hard nut to crack, but we’ve managed to construct another bridge,” disclosed the Senior Assistant Conservation Commissioner.
Mr Msindai was quick to point out the harrowing experiences of vehicles getting swept but the raging Grumeti River waters, while crossing the area.
“It used to be a near death experience not only to tourists but also our staff as we were at the mercy crocodiles and Hippos,” he explained.
The bridge now enables tourists to access campsites and hotels such as Grumeti and Kirawira Serena.
Despite the construction of the 33.2 meter crossway which became operational in September 2022 at the country’s third largest national park, Mr Msindai revealed that a total 486kilometers of road network have been worked on.
The park is now accessible at 90 per cent, with the Senior Assistant Conservation Commissioner oozing confidence over the prospects of Serengeti National Park to retain its status as Africa’s best National Park, for the fifth time in a row.
“Going with the sheer number of tourists who flock the park, it’s only a matter of time for Serengeti to shine again,” boasted the Conservation Commissioner.
Serengeti National Park had by March this year accrued 135bn/- from more than 200,000 tourists who visited the home to the Great wildebeest Migration, a spectacle that attracts the attention of million viewers every year.
It was allocated a whopping 6.2bn/- through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) window disbursement which focuses on on health, education, water, tourism, social protection, energy, economic empowerment, and coordination and administration sectors for both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, impacting economies, livelihoods, public services and opportunities on all continents.
