Like massive toy building-blocks, giant pieces of the first bridge to span the Mekong River lie neatly stacked in the construction zone on the Lao bank of the river. The site is jam-packed with these concrete T-shaped segments, and the whole scene is dominated by a huge gantry crane which has the job of positioning each segment where it needs to go.

Swaying gently in the wind, a segment is lowered by the gantry onto a barge in the river which takes it out to within reach of a floating crane. The crane then slowly lifts it to position onto the first of the six river piers and with amazing precision for such bulky items, the segment is affixed to its mate with pre-tensioned steel wire strand.

The bridge is being constructed using the balanced-cantilever method which literally means that the segments are joined together to make a see-saw, or span, with a pier as the pivot point. But what happens when a south-going span meets a North-going span? A gap of about one and a half metres is left where the two will meet, and an in-situ concrete segment is poured to complete the span.

On the Thai side of the river a mammoth I50-tonne crane does the job of moving the segments into place. The segments are made on the Lao side because the land on that side of the river is higher than that on the Thai side. It is fascinating to imagine that out of all this, traffic will be moving across the Mekong River from Laos into Thailand, for the very first time in history via a bridge.

This bridge is more than just a masterpiece of design, planning and construction. After a long history of hostility and suspicion, both Laos and Thailand have been cooperating to make the project run smoothly. Initial hiccups were inevitable, but the path is now clear for the scheduled opening of April 1994. Mr. Nicholas Leicester, Project Manager for John Holland Constructions remarks: "We had problems at the beginning which is normal, but it's certainly working out better than expected".

Back in 1989, the then Australian Prime Minister Mr. Bob Hawke offered Australian funding to the governments of Laos and Thailand for the design and construction of a bridge over the Mekong River. The Mekong is of significant geographical and economic importance in Indo-China, acting as a natural border for much of Laos and Thailand. It is a major transportation artery for those who live and work by its life sustaining waters. A bridge in this region was seen as being able to play a major role in opening up trade routes in the area as well as strengthening ties between Laos and Thailand.

There had been previous feasibility studies carried out by the United States and Japan from the mid-195Os and in 1990 an update study was carried out by Australian engineering consultants Maunsell Pty Ltd and Sinclair Knight & Partners Pty Ltd. The project was given the go-ahead, A$ 42 million was earmarked by the Australian Government to fund the construction of the bridge as well as landscaping and border control facilities on the Lao side, and John Holland Constructions Pty Ltd was on site by the end of October 1991 to start work.

Known as the Mittaphab or Friendship Bridge, this 1.24-kilometre link between the two countries across the Mekong will have a substantial impact on the economy of Laos, and an incalculable social impact on the people of Laos. Although coveted in past centuries by more powerful nations for its strategic location, Laos has largely been ignored in recent times as having little economic importance in the region. The French colonists left in 1955 and Laos had to find its own feet and make a place for itself in the Indo-Chinese world, surrounded by much stronger and more secure neighbours.

Coming here for the first time, initial impressions are of an old forgotten place, drifting along, untouched by time. Run down gracious French colonial buildings, government offices badly in need of a coat of paint and overwhelming clouds of dust assault the senses at every turn. But look a bit closer and you will see new buildings under construction, latest model cars owned by locals, new restaurants, new hotels and new businesses. Roadworks along the main city streets are testimony to the new telephone system being installed in an effort to raise the standard of communication to an internationally acceptable level.