SOUTH African President, Jacob Zuma, honoured former State President, Nelson Mandela, by unveiling the construction of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Bridge. The project was launched in July 2010. , In July 2011 the president paid a special visit to Mandela at his home in Qunu to present him with an architect’s model of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Bridge for his 93rd birthday, to be scheduled for completion in January 2013.

The 140m long and 12m wide bridge initiated by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform as part of its Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) is being built across the Mbashe River, in the Eastern Cape.

Once the project is completed, the R120 million bridge will connect the village of Ludondolo to Mvezo village on the other side of the Mbashe River. It would also be connected to a new 10km tar road linking Mvezo to the N2. The project will result in a shortened distance to Qunu village, and visitors who wish to visit the birthplace of Mandela in the Eastern Cape will be able to do so; turning Mvezo into a tourist attraction and bringing economic development to the area.

The bridge will be both a metaphor, and a tribute to Mandela and his willingness to build bridges between people and between ideas, between young and old as well as between cultures. Local residents will also be able to save on transport costs and have ease of access to the neighbouring towns as a result of its construction.

The Mvezo village would now act as a catalyst for economic activity and improved access to services including electricity, water, flush toilets, roads, entertainment, sport centres, shopping centres, schools, and agricultural production. The project will also provide work to more than 300 people in the area.

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