The Ban Ladhan Mekong River Super Major Bridge has completed its main section closure over the Mekong River, marking the end of major engineering work along the China-Laos Railway, a major Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project.

The new railway will run from Lao‘s capital city of Vientiane to the border city of Boten, where it will connect with the Chinese rail network to Kunming.

The main contractor on the Ban Ladhan Bridge is the China Railway No. 8 Engineering Group.

Located around 230 kilometres north of the capital Vientiane, the Ban Ladhan Bridge is 1,652 meters in length and has a total of 45 spans connecting two platforms and 44 piers.

The other bridge on the rail route that crosses the Mekong is the Luang Prabang Mekong River Super Major Bridge, which completed its main section closure in July 2019.

Construction on the railway began in 2016. It is expected to be operational in December 2021. The railway will also form part of the line that will eventually link Kunming with Singapore.