Cambodian, Vietnamese PMs unveil bridge connecting two countries

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday jointly inaugurated a bridge connecting southern Cambodia's Kandal province and southwestern Vietnam's An Giang province.

The concrete bridge has a total length of 427 meters in which half was built by Cambodia and the other half was developed by Vietnam, said Cambodian Transport Minister Sun Chanthol.

He said the project took 27 months to be completed at a total cost of 36 million U.S. dollars in which more than 15 million dollars were paid by Cambodia and the rest was covered by Vietnam.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the project would contribute to broadening bilateral economic cooperation, trade and tourism, and to improving living conditions for the people of the two countries.

"Cambodia believes that the project will contribute to boosting Cambodia-Vietnam trade volume to 5 billion U.S. dollars in coming years," he said in a speech broadcast live on social media.

For his part, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the inauguration of the bridge was part of the activities that the two countries had organized to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.

"The bridge alongside its connecting road becomes the shortest road linking capital Phnom Penh to Vietnamese border," he said. Endit