The presidents of the two countries, Thein Sein and his opposite number Laos’s Choummaly Sayasone, attended the official opening. The groundbreaking rites before construction started were held 27 months ago.
The US$26 million construction cost of the bridge was shared by the governments of the two nations. Foreign Ministry representatives from the two entities both stated that the bridge would promote cross-border tourism and allow ease of travel.
The bridge links Myanmar’s Highway 4 and Highway 17 in Laos. These provide direct routes from Tachilek and Keng Tung in Shan State through to the town of Luang Namtha and across to China’s Province of Xishuangbanna. There are no international buses serving the route so far, but an unnamed Lao immigration officer says these are in the pipeline.
The bridge is almost 11 metres wide and has dual traffic lanes plus pavements on either side which are 1.2 metres wide. It was designed to endure earthquakes up to a magnitude of seven on the Richter scale and is high enough above the Mekong to enable 500 tonne vessels to go under it with room to spare.
Friendship Bridge linking Laos and Myanmar opens for traffic
News in Asia
Last weekend saw the official opening ceremonies of a river-bridge linking the Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar and Lao. The 690-meter-long Friendship Bridge spans the Mekong River and links Myanmar’s Shan State and Luang Namtha Province in northern Laos.