Thailand-Laos link

Plans are being set out for a new bridge to link Thailand with Laos. Work on the fourth Thailand-Lao bridge will commence this month. Called the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, the link is expected to cost in the region of US$46 million to construct. Funding for the project will be provided jointly by the governments of Thailand and China. The link is expected to be open for traffic by the end of 2012 and will connect Chiang Rai's Chiang Khong district in Thailand and Bo Keo's Hueisay in Laos. The 11km road that connects the bridge was built jointly by Thailand firm Krung Thon Engineering and Chinese company CR5-KT Group. The bridge forms part of the North-South Economic Corridor Project. The aim of this link is to boost travel and trade among the six nations in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), as well as between Thailand and Laos.