The governments of Laos and Thailand on Friday signed an agreement to begin construction of the fourth Lao-Thai Mekong Friendship Bridge.
Mr Sommath Pholsena (left) and Mr Sophon Zarum sign the bridge construction agreement.
A ground-breaking ceremony is expected to take place next month.
The agreement was signed by Lao Minister of Public Works and Transport Sommath Pholsena and Thai Minister of Transport Sophon Zarum in Chiang Rai province, Thailand. Meanwhile, both countries’ bridge and road construction department heads signed an agreement with contractors to build the 480m bridge.
The latest Lao-Thai Mekong Friendship Bridge will link Huayxai district in Bokeo province, Laos, with Chiang Khong district in Chiang Rai province, Thailand.
“We expect to hold a ground-breaking ceremony in June to mark the start of construction. We expect the bridge to be finished within 30 months,” said project head Mr Vanthong Boudtanavong.
The project was initially scheduled to start at the end of this month but was postponed because of work commitments by both sides.
Deputy project head Mr Thavone Vorlaboud said that on the Lao side, the compensation package for nearby residents had not yet been cleared. The deal, worth a total of 8 billion kip, is to compensate 47 households, as well as the owners of paddy fields and farms in the construction area.
The compensation budget also covers the relocation of key infrastructure such as electricity poles to an area 3km away, which will cost a further billion kip, he added. The government will foot the bill.
The construction of the bridge follows an agreement signed by the Chinese Minister of Commerce and Thailand’s Minister of Finance at the 15th Asean Summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand, last year.
The signing was witnessed by Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The Lao and Thai governments will each contribute 50 percent of the cost of construction of the bridge.
To fund its contribution, Laos received a grant of US$20 million from the Chinese government, under an agreement signed in 2008.
Part of the Greater Mekong sub-region north-south economic corridor project, the bridge will complete a link between Chiang Rai province and Kunming, capital of Southwest China’s Yunnan province, through Road No. 3 in Laos.
It is hoped the bridge will promote links between the three countries and facilitate trade and communication across the region, thereby improving local living conditions.
The design of the bridge is similar to that of the first Friendship Bridge, which spans the Mekong between Vientiane in Laos and Nong Khai province in Thailand.
