SEOUL, KOREA - Hyundai Development Co. said on September 24 that it held a groundbreaking ceremony on Bolivia's longest bridge.

 

 

The Banegas Bridge is part of the wider project to link the western and eastern coasts of South America by 4,700-kilometer road. The bridge spans 1,440 meters over the Grande River, plus 200-meter road sections connected with the bridge. The total cost is estimated at US$36 million for which Korea EximBank supported through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund.

 

At the ceremony, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera, the country's interim president, was in attendance, with other 1,200 dignitaries and local residents taking part in. The project's length is 35 months, with the project completed in August 2017.

 

Hyundai Development will adopt a fast-track construction method by which architectural design and construction are proceeded at the same time given the local climate conditions in which builders are unable to work for six months of the rainy season. In addition, the company will implement the two-way launching design by which the contractor starts building the bridge from both sides at the same time.