Southeast Asian countries have been taking numerous initiatives to boost cross-border trade and cooperation among member countries. The Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Co-operation Strategy (ACMECS) among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam is one such initiative to utilise the member countries’ diverse strengths and to promote balanced development in the subregion. The areas of cooperation include, among others, transport, trade and investment facilitation. The Thailand-Laos Friendship Bridges over the River Mekong have been constructed under this framework. Four such bridges have been constructed so far while approval has been granted for the fifth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge. The Government of Thailand has also approved financial assistance to Laos for the construction of the bridge.
Fifth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge
The fifth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge project consists of a 15 km four-lane road, starting from Muang district of Bueng Kan in Thailand to Paksan town of Bolikhamxay province in Laos. The road will span a length of 12.13 km on the Thai side and 2.86 km on the Lao side. The two-lane concrete bridge over the River Mekong will be 1.35 km in length. The project also includes the construction of border checkpoints and border control facilities in the two countries. Construction work on the project is expected to be completed in three years. The bridge is expected to support connectivity and border trade between Thailand and Laos and promote logistics to improve connectivity with Vietnam and China.
Officially, the project came into existence after the Thai government approached the Lao government in May 2017 regarding the implementation of the project. However, the project has been in discussion since 2015-16. Finally, after a long delay, the project received in-principle approval from the Thai cabinet on June 4, 2019. Following this, in the same month, the two countries signed an agreement on building the fifth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge. The idea behind the strategic location of the bridge was that the regions of Bueng Kan and Bolikhamxay were identified as possible gateways for bilateral trade, investment and tourism between Thailand and Laos. Thai cargo could be transported via the bridge to southern China while Lao products could be transported from central Laos to Laem Chabang deep-sea port in eastern Thailand.
Funding details
The cost of the fifth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge has been estimated at THB 3.93 billion (about $126.77 million). Of the total cost, the Government of Thailand will invest THB 2.63 billion, while the Government of Laos will invest the balance TBH 1.3 billion that it will borrow from the Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Co-operation Agency (NEDA) founded in 2005 by the Thai government. Laos had submitted a request to Thailand for financial support for the project in December 2017. In December 2019, the Thai government approved financial assistance to Laos for the construction of the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. So far, NEDA has extended financial support for a number of infrastructure development projects in Laos in the form of grants and low-interest loans.
History of Thai-Laos friendship bridges
Thai-Laos friendship bridges have boosted travel and played an important role in supporting border trade between Thailand and Laos. The countries officially opened the first Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge, linking Nong Khai in north-eastern Thailand with the Lao capital of Vientiane on April 8, 1994. The project was entirely funded by the Australian government. The bridge replaced the ferry system that had previously been the only method to transport goods and people between Vientiane and Nong Khai. The total value of imports and exports across the bridge has grown by more than 100 per cent since its opening. The first friendship bridge cemented a new, peaceful era in the relationship between the two countries. While the design and oversight of the construction of the bridge was Australian, the materials used came from all three countries while most of the construction work was carried out by Lao and Thai workers. The success of this bridge inspired the Lao and Thai governments to build other bridges linking their countries across the Mekong river in the following years.
The second Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, linking Mukdahan, also in north-eastern Thailand, with the central Lao province of Savannakhet was opened on December 20, 2006. The two governments raised a loan of TBH 2.59 billion from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance the construction of the Second Friendship Bridge. The Third Friendship Bridge, linking the north-eastern province of Nakhon Phanom in Thailand with Khammouan province in central Laos, was opened on November 11, 2011. The Government of Thailand funded the construction of the third bridge with a budget of TBH 1.72 billion ($57 million), while the Lao government provided land and tax privileges for the import of construction machines and materials. The Fourth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge was opened for operations at the end of 2013 and links Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand with Houayxay of Bokeo Province in Laos. It was equally funded by the Chinese and Thai governments.
Friendship bridges on anvil
The much awaited Fifth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge is expected to become operational by 2022. Meanwhile, the Thai government has been pushing ahead with its plan to construct two new friendship bridges between Thailand and Laos in the north-eastern provinces of Loei and Ubon Ratchathani to improve connectivity between the two countries. The bridges are yet to receive cabinet approval. The feasibility study for the construction of the Sixth Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge over the Mekong river was conducted in 2018. It is expected to connect the Thai province of Ubon Ratchathani and the Salavan province of Laos. Besides, a proposal had been made by the Vientiane provincial authorities to the Lao government in August 2019 to connect the Vientiane Prefecture in Laos with Loei province in Thailand. If approved, the Loei-Vientiane Bridge will become the Seventh Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge over the Mekong river.
Are friendship bridges really friendly?
Friendship bridges between Thailand and Laos are essential to ease the transport of containers and for heavy duty transport on routes that link to China. Besides, they also have an important role to play in promoting tourism between the two countries. However, building friendship bridges and expanding trade and tourism through the bridges has not been smooth sailing. The early promise of using the friendship bridges to encourage overland tourism has long been ditched or ignored. Despite the name, the reality is that since the opening up of the bridges the two countries that built them have trussed them up in red tape. Stringent regulatory procedures on both sides of the friendship bridges continue to hamper cross-border tourism in the two countries. Although the Mekong Tourism Forum has been trying to promote tourism between the two countries, the efforts have often been inadequate and futile. Unless the Thai and Laos governments come forward to address the glaring shortcomings at the region’s border checkpoints, the friendship bridges might promote trade but do little to foster tourism in the two countries, which is one of the key reasons for building the friendship bridges in the first place.
