Thailand will speed up negotiations with China for a final
conclusion in a project to build the third bridge across the Mekong
River, according to the National Economic and Social Development
Board (NESDB) on Wednesday.
Speaking of a progress in the Greater Mekong Sub-region
cooperation between six countries including China, Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand, NESDB's Deputy Secretary-General
Arkom Termpittayapaisith said all parties concerned had stepped up
efforts to negotiate for common rules on border-crossing freight
fee collection to reduce transport costs as much as possible.
At present, he said entrepreneurs had complained that fees on
the border-crossing freight transport from Thailand to China remain
very high. Should the problem be solved, the transport costs would
be reduced considerably.
The construction project is under negotiation in terms of budget
allocation, which is expected to be finalized soon.
Arkom said he believed the transport route, if completely
linked, would help boost the bilateral trade value between China
and Thailand considerably.
(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2006)
