4th bridge over the Mekong

Construction of the fourth Mekong River bridge to to link Bokeo province in Laos at Huayxai district and Chiang Rai province at Chiang Khong district, in Thailand, is expected to start in  March and be completed in slightly less than three years.

Lao deputy head of the Fourth Mekong Bridge Construction Project, Thavone Vorlaboud, said the tender process, for what is officially called the 4th Friendship Bridge, was closed in early January.

“Now we are working on clearing land and compensating villagers who will lose properties, either their  houses or farms.  On the Lao side they will be compensated from a fund of  4 billion kip.”

Design of the bridge is similar to that of the first Friendship Bridge, which connect Vientiane province in Laos with Nong Khai province in Thailand; the onlyvisible difference being the absence of a rail line. It will be 480m long and 14.70m wide and have two road lanes in each direction.

The Lao and Thai governments will each contribute 50% of the cost of construction, which according to the contract should be completed in 30 months from the date of the contract signing.

Laos has received a grant of US$20 million from the Chinese government, under an agreement signed in 2008. Once completed, the river bridge is finished, it completes the road link to China, a route that transverses Laos.

The second Friendship bridge connects Mukdahan in Thailand with Savannakhet in central Laos, while the third connecting Nakhon Phanom in Thailand and Tha Khaek in Laos is under construction and should open in two years.