A bridge spanning the Red River and connecting the Kim Thanh trade centre in northern Lao Cai province with the Beishan Trade Centre in China ’s Yunnan province was inaugurated on September 1.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Chairman of Lao Cai’s Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Van, said the bridge is the result of an agreement and a protocol signed by both governments on Feb. 16,2006 marking an important milestone in the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries in general and between Lao Cai and Yunnan province in particular.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Ngo Thinh Duc said that the inauguration of the Kim Thanh road bridge will open up new opportunities to develop economic and trade links between the two provinces in particular and between Vietnam and China ’s south-western provinces in general.

“The bridge will be an important crossing point for the north-south economic corridor within the expanded Mekong sub-region cooperation framework as well as on the Asian Highway 14 of the trans-Asian road network,” said Duc.

Deputy Secretary General of Yunnan’s Provincial Government, Cui Zhitao said that the completion of the bridge after three years of a joint construction project highlighted the cooperation between the two transport and communications sectors. “The bridge is a symbol of peace and friendship and is a significant event in the history of both countries,” he added.

Lao Cai province contributed 123 billion VND to the construction of the bridge, which comprises of six lanes with two for pedestrians. The bridge is also important for the development of the Honghe-Lao Cai economic cooperation zone and the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong economic corridor./.