Chinese Government provides $20 million grant for Greater Mekong Subregion Fourth Thai-Lao Mekong Friendship Bridge Construction Project

Project narrative

On November 4, 2009, the Chinese Government and the Government of Thailand signed a financing agreement for the $48.96 million Greater Mekong Subregion Fourth Thai-Lao Mekong Friendship Bridge Construction Project. The Chinese Government agreed to provide a $20 million grant to the Government of Laos to cover part of its 50% financial contribution to the project. The Thai Government agreed to finance the remaining 50% of the project cost. The purpose of the project was to build a highway bridge over the Mekong River that links Thailand’s Chiang Khong District (within Chiang Rai Province) with the city of Houayxay with the Lao province of Bokeo. The bridge is 630 meters long (with a main span of 480 meters) and is 14.7 meters wide. It is about 10 kilometers from Chiang Khong District in northeastern Chiang Rai Province, in northern Thailand, and about 12 kilometers from Houayxay, the capital of Bokeo Province, northwestern Laos. North of the bridge, a six kilometer service road connects the bridge to Laotian highway R3A. In the south, a three kilometer service road connects the bridge to the Chiang Khong-Thoen Highway and Route 1129 in Thailand. CR5-KT Group, a joint venture of China Railway No. 5 Company and Krung Thon Engineering of Thailand, was the contractor responsible for implementation. Construction began in June 2010 and was expected to be completed in June 2013. On December 12, 2012, a ceremony marking the joining of the two sides of the bridge was held in Houayxay. A project handover ceremony took place on December 10, 2013, and an opening ceremony for the bridge was held on December 11, 2013. This project is also known as the Fourth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge Construction Project and the Kunming-Bangkok Highway Mekong Bridge Project.