The government will use more than $111 million in loans from China to build a bridge across the Mekong River in Kratie province and restore National Road 7.
A senior official from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport said that the government would announce the groundbreaking for the “project to build a bridge across the Mekong River in Kratie province” and “project to enhance the quality of National Road 7 from Skun to Kampong Cham town” early in 2023.
According to the ministry, the cost for these infrastructure projects is expected to total $111.98 million, all obtained through loans from China.
Ministry spokesman Vasim Sorya said the projects connect economic corridor II or the southern economic corridor of Bangkok-Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh and the central economic corridor of Yunnan-Vientiane-Trapeang Kriel, which will effectively provide interconnection to much of the Mekong region.
“When the road and bridge projects are completed, this will allow travellers to cross from one area to another and also internally more easily, especially goods transport will be much faster and more timely,” he added.
The ministry said the project to build a new road from National Road 7 to National Road 60B will connect Kratie town to Prek Prasap district in Kratie province.
The project to build a bridge across the Mekong River will span 33.45km connecting National Road 7 at the Khla Stus Roundabout to National Road 60B, including the construction of a 1,761m-long bridge across the Mekong River with a cross-section of 13.5m, starting from the eastern bank in Bos Leav Leu village of Chitr Borei district’s Bos Leav commune over to the western bank in Sorb commune’s Prek Prolong village of Prek Prasap district.
The projects will cost a total of $111.98 million, financed by China and are estimated to need about 42 months to finish construction on the road and bridge. The projects will be implemented by the Shanghai Construction Group Corporation (SCG) with quality control by Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co Ltd.
