Tuesday, 19 February 2013 15:29 Mizzima News
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Laos-Myanmar Friendship Bridge took place on Saturday in Huaykoum village in Luang Namtha province on the Lao side of the Mekong River, according to a report by Vientiane Times.
The Friendship Bridge will be the first to span the river that separates the two countries, and is expected to increase trade, transportation links and tourism between the ASEAN members, as well as to and from China.
The 700-meter bridge will connect to Myanmar’s Kainglap village in Tachilek district, Shan State, an area renowned for drug trafficking.
The bridge will be 10.9 meters wide and will have two vehicle lanes and two sidewalks. Construction of the bridge began on the same day as the groundbreaking ceremony and will take 30 months to complete, according to Vientiane Times.
“The bridge is designed to carry semitrailers weighing up to 75 tonnes and can withstand earthquakes of up to 7.0 in magnitude on the Richter scale,” the report said.
_____________________________________________________________________
Full Vientiane Times report: http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeConten_Ground.htm
............................................................................................................................
For more background:
Subscribe to email feed
