On February 9, girder erection began on the Nam Khone River Grand Bridge, the longest bridge on the entire China-Laos Railway.

That day, a 32-meter T-girder was successfully placed on two piers of the Nam Khone River Grand Bridge, marking the official start of girder erection.

The Nam Khone River Grand Bridge is located in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and was built by China Railway No.2 Engineering Group. The bridge has a total length of 7,506.3 meters. In May 2017, the first pile foundation of the bridge was driven; in June 2018, concrete pouring for the last pier body was completed. The girder erection is scheduled to run from February 9 to June 3, 2019.

The China-Laos Railway starts from the China-Laos border in the north and reaches Vientiane in the south. It is the first overseas railway project to be mainly invested and built by China, jointly operated by China and Laos, and directly connected to China's railway network. The line is 414 kilometers long. The China-Laos Railway adopts Chinese technical standards and Chinese equipment throughout. Construction began along the entire line in December 2016, and the project entered full-scale construction in mid-2017. It is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in December 2021.