Thailand Oks Building 3rd Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge

BANGKOK, Dec 5 Asia Pulse - The Thai Cabinet on Tuesday gave
the green light to a draft agreement on the construction of the
third Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River,
connecting Thailand's Nakhon Phanom and the Lao province of
Khammoune.

The pact between the two countries is expected to be signed
by the end of December 2007, with financing to be provided by
the Thai government.

The two parties will set up a committee to coordinate the
planning, policies and project administration.

According to Thai Ministry of Commerce's figures of the two
countries' border trade, from January through September 2007,
Thailand's imported goods from Laos was worth almost Bt1. 5
billion (US$48.8 million) and Thailand's exports to Laos valued
at more than Bt30 billion.

The second Friendship Bridge between Thailand and the Lao
PDR was opened in December last year.

Linking the Lao province of Savannakhet with northeastern
Thailand's Mukdahan province, the second Thai-Lao Friendship
Bridge is boosting economic development and to facilitate
transportation, trade, investment, and tourism, not only
between Thailand and Laos, but facilitating trade and tourism
with central Vietnam.

The first Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge over the Mekong linking
the Thai province of Nong Khai and the Lao PDR capital of
Vientiane was opened in 1994.