CONSTRUCTION

Technicians and engineers have been working around the clock to complete construction of the new Monivong Bridge by Thursday's target date so as to accommodate the increase in traffic expected for the Khmer New Year, officials said. "We are rushing to finish the construction before Khmer New Year," said Chan Deth, the project's construction manager. "Then [Prime Minister] Hun Sen will inaugurate the bridge to ease travelling by reducing traffic congestion." Engineers and technicians involved in the bridge's construction have divided themselves into daytime and nighttime working teams, he said. At present, the end portions of the 268-metre bridge that connect it to the approach roads are nearly finished, he said, adding that "we still need to pave them". He said one more portion of the bridge on the west bank of the Bassac River, which the bridge traverses, needs to be completed. Technicians and engineers are also installing barriers and light posts, he said. "It is not easy to get all those workers to work days and nights every day, but we have to try our best," he said.