Today is the twentieth anniversary of the official opening
of the first bridge across the Mekong River, from Nong Khai in Northeast
Thailand to Thanaleng just south of Vientiane in Laos.
I had the honour and pleasure of chairing the tri-nation
steering committee during the first three years of its life – from the establishment
of the committee until the inauguration of construction, and I made a point of
attending the official opening on 4 April 1994. Here are some of the photos:
View of the carriage-way just prior to the opening
Guard of honour awaiting the arrival of VVIPs
Australian Ambassador Michael Mann with wife Monique
and Lao Vice-Minister (L) and Minister (R)
Lao military awaiting the arrival of their President
Arrival of President of Laos
President of Laos and King of Thailand seated for ceremony
Paul Keating with Lao Prime Minister Khamtai Siphandong
With my Lao colleague Vice-Minister Seune Phetsanghane
With my Thai colleague Mr Singh
Some of the key players including Janet Holmes à Court, whose company John Holland constructed the bridge,
and Lao Minister Madam Khempeng Pholsena
In April 1994 then Prime Minister Paul Keating visited Laos
for the official opening of the Mekong Bridge, the first ever bridge across the
Mekong, which crosses the river from the Thai provincial capital Nong Khai to
the village of Thanaleng, just south of the Lao capital, Vientiane. It was constructed as an Australian aid
project, and I had the privilege to serve as the Chairman of the
Australian-Lao-Thai Steering Committee which negotiated the arrangements and oversighted
the construction.
The day before the official opening of the bridge Paul
Keating attended the official opening of the border facilities, on the Lao side
of the border, which were also constructed as an Australia aid project.
The border facilities of necessity include a traffic
interchange; Thailand drives on the left hand side of the road and Laos on the
right.
The opening of the border post was also attended by the
Prime Minister (Chairman of the Council of Ministers) of the Lao PDR, Mr Khamtai
Siphandon, seen here meeting with Keating at the opening.
And just for the record, here is the official plaque.
A 3.5 km rail link across the Mekong River, between Nong Khai in NE Thailand and Thanaleng, 20+ kilometres SE of the Lao capital Vientiane, will be open for public use on Thursday 5 March, following an inauguration ceremony to be presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
The Friendship Bridge which carries the railway line was constructed as an Australian aid project in the early 1990s. It is just twenty years since then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, on a February 1989 visit to Bangkok, made an offer for Australia to undertake construction of this first bridge across the Mekong, at an estimated cost of $US 35 million. The idea of the bridge had been under consideration by the Mekong Committee since 1954, but the political and military situation in the region had always militated against it. With a joint Thai-Lao announcement in 1988 that they wanted to convert the region from a zone of war to a zone of peace, its time had come, and in offering to proceed with the bridge as an Australian aid project Bob Hawke saw this as an important political gesture, underpinning and expressing faith in the outbreak of peace, not just a modestly useful piece of economic infrastructure.
When the Thai and Lao Governments accepted the offer there was widespread scepticism within the Australian bureaucracy.The sceptics knew the project would become a “boondoggle” - the costs would blow out and the bridge would never be completed. And when the Lao Government expressed the wish that the bridge be constructed to a standard that would enable it to carry a standard Thai railway locomotive, they were sure that that would never happen.
It was an interesting project. As the river is an international boundary, the two ends of the bridge are in different countries, which raised interesting issues in relation to everyday matters such as workers and engineers moving around the site.In Thailand they drive on the left hand side of the road, in Laos on the right. Relations between Thailand and Laos were historically very difficult, but within the environment of this project they rapidly became remarkably cooperative.
The bridge was constructed on time and within budget. Construction formally commenced in November 1991, and the formal opening took place on 8 April 1994, presided over by the King of Thailand, the President of Laos, longtime Pathet Lao revolutionary Mr Nouhak Phoumsavan, and the Prime Minister of Australia, The Hon. Paul Keating, an interesting group of people to be seated together on the one dais.
Now the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle is falling into place. The Chairman of the State Railway of Thailand Board expects that the train service will carry 400-500 passengers per day on its twice daily return trip.
