Mr. Veera said the construction will take 30 months to complete and will be handled by a Thai-Chinese joint venture construction firm called the CR5-KT group which won the bidding. Four Thai-Chinese joint venture first contested the bidding process, he said.

Total costs of construction are Bt1.624 billion, with the Thai and Chinese governments each paying half. Thailand will pay an added Bt45.5 million for work supervision.

The 11.6 kilometre two-lane bridge will link Chiang Khong district of Thailand’s northernmost province of Chiang Rai with Laos’ Huayxai district in Bokeo province.

When complete, the bridge will help promote trade and investment, facilitate transportation, and boost tourism between Chiang Rai and Kunming, capital of Southwest China’s Yunnan province.

TNA