Indonesians witnessed the opening of  the Tayan Kasih Bridge, built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on March 22, 2016. Stretching over 1.4 kilometers, the mammoth structure constitutes Kalimantan's longest bridge and the second-longest in Indonesia after the Suramadu Bridge in Surabaya, East Java. 

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The inaugural ceremony was attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia, and various Indonesian government officials. Many locals accompanied by kids were also seen at the ceremony.

The bridge, which connects West and Central Kalimantan stretching over the Kapuas River, was officially opened to traffic on March 23, 2016. Being part of the Trans-Kalimantan highway, the bridge is expected to aid in promoting tourism and enhancing economic developmental of the region.

It only connects two parts of Kalimantan but also unites the two countries by a strong bond, helps improve the regressive transportation infrastructure of West Kalimantan and promotes local economic development. 

The China-built bridge project was budgeted at 740 billion rupiah ($76.6 million). About 90 percent of the construction cost was supported by loans from the China Exim Bank.

According to the CRBC, it is the largest arch bridge involving a steel framework in Indonesia and its construction utilized the Entire Section Hydraulic Synchronous Lifting Technology which ensures great safety and stability of the structure.

The main section of the bridge is a "three-span continuous truss arch bridge" with the spans being 75-meter- long, 200-meter-long and 75-meter-long, respectively and structure's approach bridge is a steel-concrete composite continuous beam bridge.

Nevertheless, construction of the bridge was not a smooth ride for the CRBC. The corporation overcame many challenges comprising adverse weather conditions, lack of engineering resources and a sliding exchange rate to make the project a success.

TagsIndonesia, China Construction Company Ltd, Java, Surabaya, China bank loans, hydraulics, transport, Joko Widodo, China Exim Bank, southeast asia, World News