The construction of the long awaited Amur River Bridge finally started on Saturday. The wait was indeed a long one, given that both Russia and China have painstakingly spent almost 28 years in negotiating terms and conditions.        

The bridge is a part of China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor that aims to connect Russia's eastern city of Blagoveshchensk with China's north-eastern city of Heihe.  This ambitious bridge will be constructed at the cost of $355 million.

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"We've started the construction of the cross-border bridge. The governor of the Amur region and top officials in Heilongjiang province took part in the ceremony," a Russian official from the Amur region told local news agency.

The bridge will be 19.9 kilometers long. Of which, around 6.5 kilometers will be reportedly located in China and the remaining 13.5 kilometers will be in Russia. Media reports also claimed that the main suspension bridge has a length of approximately 1,300 meters and width of 14.5 meters.

Engineers and companies involved in the project claimed that construction work will be completed within the next three years and the bridge will be opened for public use in 2019.    

The final agreement, which was signed on September 2015, is dominated by territorial principles. It categorically stated that each country will construct the part falling in their respective geographical area. It further stated that upon completion, the bridge falling in Russia will become the property of the Amur region, while China's part will be owned by Heilongjiang Province.  

The ambitious bridge is expected to greatly boost trade and economic development between the two countries as it shortens the distance between Russia and China by 3,500 kilometers.  

TagsRussia and China, amur river, Amur River Bridge, china