New China-Thailand road bridge link

Senior transport ministers from China, Lao and Thailand have agreed to build a new bridge across the Mekong River. The bridge will allow a continuous road link between the Thai capital Bangkok and China's southern provinces to be built.

Scheduled for completion in 2011, the bridge will cross between Chiang Khong in northern Thailand and Houayxay in Lao.

However, Lao will not provide funding.

Instead the Thai and Chinese governments will finance the project. The bridge is the final link in a wider scheme to improve the road network in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. This encompasses the countries of Cambodia, China, Myanmar, China and Viet Nam.