According to a press statement issued by British Embassy in Kathmandu, the bridge, which is the longest of its type in Nepal, will connect 280 km of roads already built in the area, the region´s only airport and a landmark hydropower project. [break]
"It will ensure the flow of trade and goods to the east of the country bringing business, tourism and jobs so the people living around Tumlingtar can work themselves out of poverty," the statement said.
The bridge built at the cost of 2 million pounds as a part of Britain´s Rural Access Program will also save lives of people paying for the dangerous boat to cross the raging Sabha Khola River during the rainy season, the embassy said.
"This bridge proves how British aid can make a difference to the lives of the people of eastern Nepal to lift themselves out of poverty," the statement quoted Head of DFID Nepal Dominic O´Neill as saying.
A second bridge will open in June this year to provide the first year-round crossing of the Arun River at Leguwaghat. It will allow farmers and other traders from four districts in eastern Nepal - Sankhuwasabha, Terhathum, Khotang and Dhankuta - to reach markets as far away as India.
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