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The Australian friendship bridge to Laos

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Pfriemer

Premium (World), Bangkok

The Australian friendship bridge to Laos

Opened on 8. April1994 (I was present there that time and captured another photo set), it was the first bridge crossing the lower Mekong, and the second on the full course of the Mekong,
The total cost was about US$30 million, funded by the Australian government as development aid for Laos.
The bridge was built by Australian companies as a demonstration of the capabilities of their ability to complete major infrastructural projects in southeast Asia. This mixing of development aid with commercial interests was criticized by some NGOs.
The official name of the bridge was changed by the addition of "First" (Nong Khai to Vientianne), after the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge (Muktahan to Savannakhet) in the south of the country was opened in January 2007.

The photo was captured in 2000 by a conventional Ektachrome 50 ASA slide film and scanned with a NIKON CoolScan 5000 ED.