Laos prime-minister Thongsing Thammavong led local dignitaries at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the bridge for public use. Reporting on the ceremony, the Lao News Agency said the bridge would provide a convenient means of reaching the blossoming tourism hotspot as well as give islanders access to the mainland.
Doctor Bounchan Sinthavong, the transport minister for Laos, told the agency that China’s Export-Import Bank had granted a low-interest loan for the bulk of the US$34 million construction cost of the bridge. He also said the new construction would give ease of access to Don Khong and do away with the necessity of boarding a ferry to get there.
There are 10 villages on Don Khong and the largest one, Muang Khong, faces across the Mekhong to Champassak. The majority of the island’s hotels are here and tourists use them as bases for activities such as going dolphin-watching or trips to the Pha Pheng Falls.
New bridge to Laos Mekhong River island
News in Asia
Last week saw the official opening ceremony of a new bridge to the main island in Laos’s Si Phan Don Archipelago. The 718-metre-long bridge connects the east bank of the country’s Mekhong River in Champassak Province to the island of Don Khong.