China-Laos railway’s 1st bridge span completed

The first bridge span of the China-Laos railway has been built over the Mekong River in northern Laos, the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., which is in charge of the construction and operation of the railway said on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the China Railway No. 8 Engineering Group (CREC-8) has completed the closure of the first span of the Luang Prabang cross-Mekong River railway bridge on Saturday. It is also the first completed bridge span of two cross-Mekong bridges of the railway.

The 1,458.9-meter Luang Prabang cross-Mekong bridge, some 220 km north of Lao capital Vientiane, is a key project of the China-Laos railway. Despite high risks and difficulties of the bridge construction, five main piers of the bridge have been planted in the Mekong River.

The China-Laos railway crosses the Mekong River twice, with Luang Prabang and Ban Ladhan bridges under construction by the Chinese engineering company CREC-8.

The 414-km railway links Mohan-Boten border gate in northern Laos and the capital of Vientiane with 60 percent of its construction being bridges and tunnels.

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