Second Lao-thai Bridge To Be Opened In December

Second Lao-Thai bridge to be opened in Dec

BANGKOK: -- The second bridge linking Thailand and Laos across the Mekong River which is a common border will be opened in December, Radio Vientiane announced on Friday.

Construction on the bridge, linking Mukdaharn province in northeastern Thailand to Laos' southern province Suvannakhet, began in December, 2003, and will 100 per cent completed by this December.

The project was partly financed by the Japanese government, costing about US$69 million, of which the Lao government financed half of it

It will be the second bridge to link Thailand and Laos across the Mekong River.

The first, the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, was completed with Australian assistance in the early 1990s, linking Vientiane with Nong Khai province.

--The Nation 2006-07-21