A multimillion dollar bridge built with the financial support of Japan has been inaugurated in northern Vietnam, connecting two mountainous provinces and promising to encourage local economic growth.

The state-owned Civil Engineering Construction Joint Stock Corporation 8 (CIENCO 8) opened the Coc Pai Bridge on Sunday after almost two years of construction.

Having the first sod turned on it on January 26, 2015, the bridge was built at a cost of VND158.7 billion (US$7.1 million), including local government funding and loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

It was constructed with reinforced concrete, using advanced technology.

The bridge spans Xin Man District in Ha Giang Province, measuring 337.28m long and sitting 60m from an old suspension bridge.

Vietnamese students wave at the Coc Pai Bridge connecting Ha Giang and Lao Cai Provinces. Photo: JICA

It is part of a transport credit program run by the Ministry of Transport to restore and build bridges on national roads in order to improve transportation and local residents’ life.

The Coc Pai Bridge will help facilitate transport between Ha Giang and neighboring Lao Cai Provinces as well as between Xin Man and nearby towns, according to the JICA.

The agency said the bridge would open up opportunities for more economic growth for the Xin Man minority and the province as a whole.

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