New bridge to relieve traffic congestion in Brunei

His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, consented to officiate the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a bridge link across Brunei River from Sungai Kebun Village to Jalan Residency in the capital Thursday. The construction of the 139 million Brunei dollars (about 113 million U.S. dollars) bridge link is one of the 10th National Development Plan implemented by the Public Works Department under the Ministry of Development. The project estimated to complete in 2016 was undertaken by a Brunei joint venture company Swee Private Limited, Daelim Industrial Co Ltd and TRC. The new bridge will relieve the traffic congestion experienced by the commuters at Lumapas Township, who have to travel a long distance in an opposite direction to use the existing bridge before entering into the capital. More than 18,000 vehicles from the township use the existing bridge to enter the capital daily. The bridge is approximately over 607 meters long and is the country's first cable stayed bridge.