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)