Building of fourth Mekong bridge slips behind schedule

The fourth Friendship Bridge to link Laos and Thailand across the Mekong River is now set for completion in the middle of 2013, project authorities announced on Tuesday.

“The bridge was scheduled to be finished at the end of 2012, but the work has been delayed slightly as project financing was impacted by the global financial crisis,” Deputy Head of the 4th Mekong River Bridge Construction Project Mr Thavone Vorabouth said.

The project has approved an extension of the deadline by six months, with the completion date now expected to be in mid 2013.

Mr Thavone told the Vientiane Times that construction on the Lao side of the bridge in Bokeo province had not stopped and the project is now 29 percent complete.

The bridge is part of the Greater Mekong sub-region north-south economic corridor project, and will link Chiang Rai province in Thailand with Kunming in China via Road R3 in Laos. Locally, it will connect Donsavan village in Huayxai district of Bokeo province with Ing village in Chiang Rai province.

The bridge will be about 9km from Road R3, which heads north to China. Its design will be the same as the first Friendship Bridge built between Vientiane in Laos and Nong Khai province in Thailand in 1994.

The 4th Mekong River Bridge Construction Project is jointly funded by Laos and Thailand, with the total cost to exceed US$44 million. The Lao and Thai governments are each contributing 50 percent of the construction cost.

According to officials in Bokeo province, the Chinese government will provide US$20 million in grant aid to the Lao government to help Laos meet its share of the costs. Laos will also contribute more than four billion kip in compensation for people whose properties are affected on the Lao side of the bridge.

When completed, the bridge will be 480 metres long and 14.5 metres wide. It will help facilitate the transportation of goods between Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and China, as well as open the area up to further tourism development.

vientiane times

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